DOHA,— Hamas said Monday that it has picked Khalil Al-Hayya as its new overall leader. The announcement came in a statement from the extremist Islamist Arab Palestinian militant group.
Al-Hayya takes over from Yahya Sinwar, who was killed in 2024 while fighting Israeli forces during Hamas’s two-year war in Gaza.
Al-Hayya served as Hamas’s exiled chief in Gaza and its main negotiator.
He became a more important figure in the group’s leadership after Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh both died. Haniyeh was killed in Iran in July 2024.
Israeli officials told Reuters that Al-Hayya was one of the top Hamas officials targeted in an Israeli strike in Doha in September 2025.
Israel says it will continue efforts to eliminate Hamas leaders who survived Qatar strike.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas gunmen carried out a violent, ISIS-style attack on communities and military bases in southern Israel. More than 1,200 people were killed.
Hamas is designated as a terrorist group by the international community. Israel’s military says the group is still holding 253 hostages in Gaza.
Qatar, a Salafi Muslim nation, is often accused of backing Islamist groups such as Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda, and the Islamic State group.
Over the years, Qatar has given financial support to Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Islamist fighters in Syria and other countries.
Qatar has also backed other dangerous Salafi groups in the region. This includes sending weapons and money to extremist fighters in Syria and Libya.
Al Jazeera, Qatar’s state-linked TV network, has aired clerics calling for suicide attacks against Americans, Europeans, and Israelis. Qatar also supports the Taliban, the radical Islamist group ruling Afghanistan.
(With files from Reuters | Agencies)
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