Who is Khalil al-Hayya, new head of Hamas political bureau?

Published 15 August 2025

Last updated 6 hours ago

Reading time: 4 minutes

Hamas announced on Monday the election of Khalil al-Hayya as head of its political bureau, succeeding Yahya Sinwar.

A statement from the movement said: 'At the conclusion of an internal electoral process... the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) announces the election of brother commander and mujahid Khalil al-Hayya as head of the movement, through an institutional shura process.'

Al-Hayya’s leadership is expected to be a temporary transitional period for the movement, which has lost many of its leaders since the October 2023 attack.

During that attack, al-Hayya was deputy to the late movement leader Yahya Sinwar, whom Israel announced was killed in Gaza in October 2024.

Since Sinwar's death, a five-member council, including al-Hayya, has been leading Hamas.

The election saw al-Hayya compete with Khaled Mashal for the leadership of the movement’s political bureau.

The movement’s statement said: 'Achieving this entitlement at this very moment... amid ongoing aggression and systematic targeting of the movement’s leaders and cadres... is not a procedural detail that passes casually, but rather a confirmation that Hamas is a movement governed by its institutions and shura, and bound by its systems and regulations.'

According to observers, al-Hayya’s election confirms the continued influence of Gaza-based leaders within the movement as an organization.

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In its statement, Hamas set out 'its central priority at this stage, which is to stop the ongoing aggression against our Palestinian people, protect their inalienable rights, work to alleviate the suffering of our people in the Gaza Strip, foremost of which is lifting the siege, allowing humanitarian and medical aid to enter, embarking on a just reconstruction path, rejecting all displacement plans... along with standing with our people in Jerusalem, the West Bank and outside Palestine, and with our prisoners in occupation prisons.'

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Khalil al-Hayya’s name has been associated with Hamas since its early years, as he is one of its most prominent leaders.

Al-Hayya headed the Hamas negotiating delegation during many developments related to the war in Gaza, and also led pre-war negotiations in the strip, such as the negotiations organized in 2012 and 2014 with the Israeli side in Cairo.

Image caption, Khalil al-Hayya headed Hamas’ negotiating delegation with Israel.

Early life

Khalil Ismail Ibrahim al-Hayya, nicknamed 'Abu Osama,' was born in the Gaza Strip in January 1960. Due to his educational background, he is known as a conservative man.

Al-Hayya earned a bachelor’s degree from the Islamic University of Gaza in 1983, a master’s degree from the University of Jordan in 1989, and a PhD from the University of the Holy Quran and Islamic Sciences in Sudan in 1997, all in disciplines related to Islamic law.

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Al-Hayya was known for his political and social activity within Palestinian society, having been a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council.

Image caption, Khalil al-Hayya is considered one of the founders of Hamas.

His relationship with the movement

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Al-Hayya participated in the first Palestinian intifada in 1987, and was among the founders of Hamas. He is now one of the prominent leaders in the movement’s political bureau.

Al-Hayya spent three years in Israeli prisons in the early 1990s, before returning to Hamas and rising through its organizational ranks.

In 2006, he ran in the legislative elections on the 'Reform and Change' list in Gaza and won a seat within the Hamas bloc, later becoming head of the bloc in the Legislative Council. Those were the last Palestinian elections held since then.

He held the position of deputy head of the movement in the Gaza Strip, and head of its media office.

He spent three years in the 1990s in Israeli prisons on charges related to 'terrorism,' and at the time he was deputy head of the Islamic University student council and deputy head of the Islamic Movement (affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood) in Gaza.

His home was bombed twice, in 2007 and 2014, in what appeared to be assassination attempts, and he lost several family members in both incidents. He also lost several family members due to Israeli bombing of Gaza after the October 7 attack. In May 2025, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to assassinate leader Khalil al-Hayya.

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Khalil al-Hayya is considered closer to Tehran than Khaled Mashal, as he participated alongside Ismail Haniyeh - before his death - in the Iranian president’s inauguration ceremony, while Mashal was absent.

In 2022, he led a Hamas delegation along with other Palestinian delegations to Damascus to meet then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with the aim of reviving relations with Syria. In November 2023, he headed a delegation to Lebanon where he met the late Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and discussed the issue of hostages with him.

Attention has recently increased on Khalil al-Hayya’s activity and positions, given his prominent leadership role and participation in regional talks, especially after the killing or absence of the movement’s most prominent leaders since the latest war between Hamas and Israel.

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