Hamas announced on Monday that Khalil Al-Hayya has been elected head of its political bureau, replacing Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in October 2024. The appointment closes a months‑long internal election process that was repeatedly postponed and required a rerun after appeals over voting procedures.
Al‑Hayya’s victory over Khaled Meshaal, the movement’s longtime external leader, signals a consolidation of power among figures tied to Hamas’s wartime command in Gaza rather than a return to its traditional overseas leadership, and comes as the group navigates indirect ceasefire talks with Israel, mounting US pressure over Gaza’s future governance and armaments, and internal efforts to rebuild its leadership after the war.
In a brief statement posted on Telegram, the movement said its General Shura Council had completed the electoral process, which resulted in the election of “the mujahid brother Khalil Al-Hayya as head of the movement’s political bureau,” without disclosing further details of the vote or the percentages received by the candidates.
A source close to a member of the movement’s political bureau told Al Manassa that Khalil Al‑Hayya was elected to serve a one‑year, interim term, completing the current organisational cycle. The temporary appointment is designed to bridge the movement to fresh internal votes: first for regional Shura councils in Gaza, the West Bank and abroad, and then for the General Shura Council and the political bureau.
The timing of those elections has yet to be determined, the source said, adding that security conditions will dictate when they can be held, particularly given the participation of thousands of members in Gaza and the West Bank.
The election of Al-Hayya, who formerly headed the movement’s office in Gaza, follows a transitional period during which a leadership council managed the movement after Sinwar’s assassination. He will serve until the current organizational term ends in March 2027.
In May, Al Manassa revealed that the race for the movement’s leadership had narrowed to two contestants—Al-Hayya and Khaled Meshaal—after several other leading figures, including Shura Council chairman Mohammad Darwish and senior officials Zaher Jabarin and Nizar Awad, withdrew from the contest.
According to two Hamas officials at the time, Al-Hayya had secured the movement’s top post with nearly 65% of the General Shura Council’s votes. However, an appeal was filed over the voting process for the West Bank office, sending the election back to square one, nullifying the results, and requiring a new vote.
The movement’s 58-member General Shura Council conducts internal elections through a secretive voting protocol designed to evade Israeli surveillance and targeted strikes.
