Hamas announced on Monday the election of leader Khalil al-Hayya as head of the movement's political bureau, succeeding former leader Yahya Sinwar, following the completion of internal elections of the General Shura Council.

The movement explained in a detailed statement that al-Hayya's election came at the conclusion of an internal electoral process in which representatives from various arenas and areas of the movement's presence participated, including the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Israeli occupation prisons, and outside Palestine, 'through an institutional shura path according to the movement's regulations and rules.'

Representatives of Hamas in Gaza, the West Bank, Israeli prisons, and outside Palestine participated in electing al-Hayya.

Hamas affirmed that 'achieving this electoral entitlement under the complex security and political conditions and the continued targeting of its leaders and cadres reflects its adherence to institutionalism and shura,' stressing that all its leaders and organizational frameworks stand behind the elected leadership with a spirit of unity and responsibility.

The movement also extended greetings to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem, the West Bank, the 1948 territories, and the diaspora, and to Palestinian prisoners who participated in this entitlement despite the conditions of detention, affirming that their cause will remain at the forefront of its priorities.

The movement stressed that its main priority in the current stage is to cease military operations against Palestinians, lift the siege on the Gaza Strip, allow the entry of humanitarian and medical aid, launch the reconstruction process, along with rejecting displacement plans and supporting Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and outside Palestine.

Khalil al-Hayya is considered one of the movement's most prominent political leaders, having held multiple senior positions within Hamas, and his name has been associated with managing a number of political files in recent years, especially the negotiations with Israel that resulted in the signing of the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement to cease fire in Gaza in October 2025.

Yahya Sinwar had assumed the presidency of the movement's political bureau in August 2024 succeeding Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated by Israel in Tehran, before Israel later assassinated his successor Sinwar during clashes in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, in October of the same year. Since then, a leadership council headed by Muhammad Ismail Darwish has managed the movement's affairs until the new elections were held.