Hamas announced on Monday that Khalil al-Hayya had been elected head of the organization's political bureau, succeeding Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in October 2024.
"The Islamic Resistance Movement [Hamas] announces the election of the mujahid [jihadist] brother Khalil al-Hayya as head of the movement's political bureau, succeeding the martyred leader Yahya Sinwar," The group said in an official statement posted to Telegram.
In May, Hamas had elected al-Hayya as its leader in the Gaza Strip. At that time, Arabic media reports indicated the organization planned to appoint another senior Gaza figure to replace him if he assumed the position of political bureau head.
A U.S.-brokered ceasefire took effect on October 10, 2025, ending the two-year conflict that began when Hamas and other Palestinian groups invaded the northwestern Negev on October 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people, wounding thousands and taking 251 hostages.
Three of Hamas's top leaders - Sinwar in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh abroad and Saleh al-Arouri in Judea and Samaria - were eliminated by Israeli security forces within roughly a year following the October 7 attack.
Before October 7, al-Hayya served as deputy to Sinwar. He maintained close ties with Tehran and was among senior Hamas officials who met with Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
Al-Hayya departed the Gaza Strip before the October 7 conflict and has been primarily based in Qatar, though he also visited Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria. He has headed Hamas's negotiating team in ceasefire talks with the United States.