Hamas names Khalil al-Hayya as new leader after run-off with Khaled Meshaal

Hamas has named Khalil al-Hayya as its new leader, succeeding Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by the Israeli army in October 2024, Report informs via Al Jazeera.

Al-Hayya, a former deputy chairman of the Palestinian group and one of five members of its leadership council, won an internal ballot in a run-off against former Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal, Hamas said in a statement on Monday.

Al-Hayya rose in importance after the killings in 2024 of top Hamas leaders Sinwar and military commander Mohammed Deif in Gaza, and Ismail Haniyeh who was assassinated during a visit to Tehran the same year.

With those losses, al-Hayya became one of five leaders steering Hamas"s leadership council. The leadership council was the temporary, five-member ruling committee formed in late 2024 to govern the group during the war.