Hamas names Khalil al-Hayya as new overall leader

What the report says

BBC World News reports that Hamas has chosen Khalil al-Hayya as its new overall leader, replacing Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in October 2024. Hayya, 65, has been based in Qatar and was already leading Hamas in Gaza from exile. He has also served as the group’s chief negotiator in indirect ceasefire talks involving mediators in Egypt and Qatar.

According to the BBC, Hayya is viewed as aligned with the harder-line current that gained influence during the war with Israel, and he was a close associate of Sinwar. He survived an Israeli strike on a Hamas leadership meeting in Doha in September 2025; the BBC says five lower-level Hamas members, including one of his sons, and a Qatari security officer were killed. Israel’s prime minister said at the time that the targeted leaders were linked to the 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel.

The BBC says Hayya’s election followed two rounds of voting by a 69-member electoral college. A Palestinian official familiar with the process told the outlet that former political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal led narrowly in the first round but did not reach the required threshold, before Hayya won a run-off.

The leadership change comes as Hamas faces severe pressure after the Gaza war, with many senior figures killed and its governing capacity weakened. The BBC notes a strategic split between those urging a more pragmatic political approach and Hayya’s supporters, who argue Gaza’s leadership should retain control and resist major concessions, especially on disarmament. Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by Israel, the UK, the US and others.