Palestinian group Hamas on Monday named senior member Khalil al-Hayya as head of its political bureau, succeeding Yahya Sinwar who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in October 2024, Anadolu reports.
A brief statement by the group said Hayya had been “elected head of the movement’s political bureau,” succeeding Sinwar.
Hayya is one of Hamas’ most prominent figures. He took over leadership of the movement in Gaza in October 2024 after Israel killed Sinwar, and had served as Sinwar’s deputy prior to that.
His profile rose further following a series of Israeli assassinations targeting Hamas’ top leadership, including former political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh and deputy chief Saleh al-Arouri, making him widely viewed as the leading candidate to head the movement politically and organizationally.
Hayya had previously headed Hamas’ Office of Arab and Islamic Relations following the movement’s internal elections in 2021.
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Born in 1960, Hayya earned a doctorate in the Sunnah of the Prophet and Hadith Sciences from the Holy Quran University in Sudan in 1997. He was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2006 as a representative for Gaza City.
His son Hamza, a field commander in Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, was killed in clashes with Israeli forces in eastern Gaza City in 2008.
Eight of his relatives, including several brothers and their sons, were also killed during an Israeli attempt to assassinate him on May 20, 2007, when Israeli forces bombed his family’s gathering place in eastern Gaza City.
Additional members of Hayya’s family have been killed during Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, which has killed more than 73,000 people and injured over 173,000 since October 2023.
