Hamas elects Khalil al-Hayya as political bureau chief

The Palestinian group Hamas has a new top political leader after Khalil al-Hayya was elected to head its political bureau on Monday, July 20, 2026. The veteran official won a narrow runoff vote against former political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal, securing 35 votes to Meshaal's 34 in the movement's General Shura Council.

Al-Hayya succeeds Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in October 2024. His election formalizes a leadership role he has increasingly filled over the past two years, emerging as a chief negotiator during indirect ceasefire talks and serving on a temporary five-member leadership council established after the killing of another senior leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran in July 2024.

Born in Gaza City on November 5, 1960, al-Hayya became active in the Muslim Brotherhood in the early 1980s before joining Hamas upon its founding in 1987. He rose through the organization's political ranks over decades, holding key positions including membership in the political bureau and responsibility for the group's relations with Arab and Islamic countries. He was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2006 and later headed Hamas's parliamentary bloc.