Hamas names Khalil al-Hayya as new leader

Hamas has named senior figure Khalil al-Hayya as its new leader, the Palestinian group announced on Monday.

The veteran figure in the group replaces former leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed in battle by Israeli forces in October 2024.

Hayya has long been one of the group’s top leaders living abroad, and has been a central figure in negotiations over the past three years.

Sinwar was killed on 17 October 2024 during direct combat with the Israeli army in Rafah, southern Gaza.

His death came after previous leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated by Israel in July 2024 in the Iranian capital Tehran.

Hayya himself was targeted by an Israeli assassination attempt in September last year in Doha.

Sources close to the Palestinian movement told Middle East Eye at the time that all senior leaders targeted in the attack survived, including Hayya, Khaled Meshal, Zaher Jabarin, and others.

The attack killed Khalil al-Hayya’s son, Hammam al-Hayya, and his office director, Jihad Lubbad. Several others were wounded.

Born in Gaza in 1960, Hayya is first reported to have met Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 1980, some seven years before Hamas was formed.

One of the earliest members of Hamas’ political wing, Hayya went onto hold several positions in student and workers’ unions, and was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) in 2006.

In 2007, during a botched Israeli assassination attempt against him, a number of his family members were killed by Israel, including his wife and three children.

Since then, he has played a key role in negotiating a ceasefire with Israel during the 2014 war on Gaza, as well as during the ongoing genocide which began in October 2023.

In 2022, he travelled to Damascus to formalise the restoration of ties with the Syrian government after they frayed following the Arab Spring uprisings and the Syrian civil war.