Khalil al-Hayya has been named the new top leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas. This senior Hamas leader—who survived an Israeli strike in Qatar last September—is known for his close ties to Iran. He lost one of his sons in the ongoing war in Gaza.
Two of his other sons had also been killed in previous conflicts. For a long time, he has been based in Doha, the capital of Qatar, alongside other top Hamas leaders. News agency Reuters reported this development. Al-Hayya’s influence within the organization grew significantly following the deaths of successive top Hamas leaders in Israeli strikes; these included Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar.
Al-Hayya played a pivotal role in ceasefire negotiations throughout the Gaza war, which began after Hamas’s operation on October 7, 2023. He participated in indirect talks with Israel. This led to a US-brokered ceasefire agreement in October 2025. Although that agreement halted major hostilities in Gaza, Israel continued its attacks against Hamas and other groups it deemed immediate threats.
Since the killing of Ismail Haniyeh during a visit to Iran in July 2024, al-Hayya has been considered the most influential figure among Hamas leaders based abroad. He was present in Doha during the Israeli strike on Hamas leaders last September—a meeting intended to discuss potential ceasefire initiatives. Following the death of Yahya Sinwar, Hamas was managed by a five-member leadership council based in Qatar; al-Hayya was a member of that council.
A Long Journey with Hamas
Born in the Gaza Strip, the 64-year-old al-Hayya has been associated with Hamas since its inception. According to Hamas sources, he joined the Muslim Brotherhood in the early 1980s—the same period when Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar also joined the organization. When Hamas was founded in 1987, he became a member from the very beginning. During his time in Gaza, he was detained by Israel on multiple occasions. Several members of Al-Hayya’s family were killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home in the Shuja’iyya neighborhood of Gaza City in 2007.
His son Hamza was killed in another airstrike in 2008. During the 2014 Gaza war, the home of his eldest son, Osama, was bombed, resulting in the deaths of Osama, his wife, and their three children. Al-Hayya has also lost another son in the ongoing Gaza war.
Close Ties with Iran
Al-Hayya left Gaza for Qatar several years ago. Since then, he has played a pivotal role in managing Hamas’s relations with the Arab and Islamic worlds. In July 2024, he accompanied Ismail Haniyeh on a visit to Tehran, where Haniyeh was killed. Al-Hayya once stated that the operation on October 7, 2023, was primarily intended to capture Israeli soldiers to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners through an exchange. In his words, however, the Zionist military unit completely collapsed. He further noted that the operation brought the Palestinian cause back to the forefront of the international agenda.
In addition to ceasefire negotiations, Al-Hayya has led various diplomatic initiatives for Hamas. In 2022, he headed a Hamas delegation to the Syrian capital, Damascus, with the aim of rebuilding ties with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Relations between the two sides had deteriorated for over a decade after Hamas expressed support for the anti-Assad movement during the Syrian civil war; efforts were subsequently made to restore those ties. This initiative was also viewed as crucial for strengthening the regional alliance comprising Iran, Syria, and Hamas.
