Hamas names Khalil al-Hayya as new overall leader

The Palestinian armed group Hamas has elected Khalil al-Hayya as its new leader, according to a statement.He replaces Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by the Israeli military in Gaza in October 2024.Hayya, who already headed the movement in Gaza from exile, was widely seen as representing the more hardline faction that emerged from the devastating war with Israel that began almost three years ago. He was a close associate of Sinwar and is seen as continuing the political line going back to the late Ismail Haniyeh.As the chief negotiator for Hamas, Hayya gained international prominence by leading the group's delegations at indirect ceasefire talks, meeting mediators in Egypt and Qatar.He had recently taken on greater responsibility for Hamas's diplomatic and political strategies.In September 2025, the 65-year-old survived an Israeli air strike that targeted a meeting of Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital, Doha. Five lower-level members of the group, including one of his sons, were killed along with a member of Qatar's security forces.Israel's prime minister said at the time that it targeted the Hamas leaders because they had organised the attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which triggered the Gaza war.Another two of Hayya's sons were killed in previous Israeli attempts on his life in Gaza, while a fourth was killed ​in an Israeli air strike in Gaza in May.