Who is Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’s newly elected political chief?

Palestinian group Hamas has announced the election of Khalil al-Hayya as the new head of its political bureau. Al-Hayya's election on Monday follows the killing of the previous leader, Yahya Sinwar, by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip in 2024. Sinwar had taken over after the Israeli assassination of political head Ismail Haniyeh earlier that year. Al-Hayya himself survived an Israeli assassination attempt in Qatar last year. His appointment came after a run-off vote within the movement's General Shura Council against former political chief Khaled Meshaal, after neither candidate secured the required 50 percent plus one majority in earlier voting. The election of al-Hayya, formerly the group's exiled Gaza leader, is in line with Hamas's internal 2021 framework requiring top leadership positions to reflect its key geographical sectors – the other two being the occupied West Bank and the diaspora. Al-Hayya, who was part of a temporary five-man ruling council established in late 2024 to handle wartime governance, will now serve out the remainder of the current electoral term ending in 2027.

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