How will Khalil al-Hayya's past shape Hamas' future? - analysis

BySETH J. FRANTZMANJULY 20, 2026 21:53Updated: JULY 20, 2026 21:58In September 2025, Khalil Al Hayya was in Doha, Qatar, when an Israeli airstrike was carried out. “Senior Hamas official Hayya, targeted with others in an Israeli operation in Doha on Tuesday,” The National in the UAE noted at the time.It also said he had been leading the group's negotiations. “Hamas's six-man leadership targeted in Doha by Israel,” the report said. Now reports say that he has been named the new head of the group’s political bureau, in essence replacing Yahya Sinwar.Hayya is expected to play a key role going forward. Since he is not in Gaza, it will continue to mean that Hamas in Gaza will live in the shadows, in an opaque leadership style that benefits its ability to remain. Hamas has claimed it is ready to hand over governance.By having its leaders abroad, it can claim it handed over control and still maintain power behind the scenes. Hayya will be key to this next step.From Hamas founder to political bureau chiefHayya is a member of the original Hamas generation. Born in 1960 in Gaza he grew up with other leader members of Hamas who lived in Gaza. The group formed in the 1980s due to the inspiration of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. He joined the group when it was founded during the First Intifada in 1987.Israeli Arab demonstrators wave Palestinian militant group Hamas' flags during a rally to mark Land Day in the southern Israeli city of Beersheva on March 28, 2009. Land Day commemorates the 1976 death of six of their brethren during a demonstration against Israeli land confiscation; illustrative (credit: Awad Awad/AFP via Getty Images)He was detained by Israel in the 1990s and served three years in prison. He eventually became the deputy to Sinwar but left Gaza before October 7, 2023, and ended up in Doha with other Hamas heavyweights.Before October 7 Hayya was already well known inside Hamas. He was also known in Israel. For instance, in November 2023 Khalil Hayya was 63 years old. At the time, he was running a communications office for Hamas and was a deputy to Sinwar.“Hayya's past includes a three-year stint in an Israeli prison, and he has survived multiple attempts on his life. These assassination attempts led to the death of nineteen of his family members. Currently, Hayya resides in Qatar,” Ynet noted at the time.He appeared in semi-public events in Qatar in the past. For instance in August, 2024 he appeared at a mourning event for assassinated Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Doha. Asharq al-Awsat noted that “Hayya has been widely seen as Hamas' most influential figure abroad since Haniyeh's death.He is part of a five-man leadership council that has led Hamas since Yahya Sinwar's death. Hailing from the Gaza Strip, he has lost several close relatives - including his eldest son - to Israeli strikes.”Hayya has also claimed that Israel has been trying to assassinate him since at least 2007. Palestinian media has repeated this claim. Back in 2007, he claimed that Israel struck his house, “killing seven of his children and family members,” the Palestine Information Center claims.“In 2014, Israel tried once again to assassinate him, failing, but spilling more of his family’s blood,” the report argues. It’s impossible to verify this. Clearly he has made the losses within his family a key part of his identity.His son was killed in the 2014 war. TRT also claimed in 2025 that “in August, Israeli media reported that two of al Hayya’s nephews, Ayman Abd al Salam al Hayya and Mu’az Abd al Salam al Hayya, were killed in Gaza while cutting firewood in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood.”Hayya's role in Hamas negotiations and leadershipHis narrative has been that he will continue the course of Haniyeh and Sinwar. This would mean endless war and Hamas continuing to try to rebuild. A 2025 article at The Dispatch noted that “Hayya has long held roles in Hamas’ leadership. He served as the group’s lead negotiator in the talks that followed the wars Hamas fought in 2012 and 2014 against Israel. He was the leader of Hamas’ parliamentary bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council from 2006.In 2017, Yahya Sinwar, then the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, appointed Hayya as his deputy, and Hamas' political bureau reelected Hayya for that role in 2021.” It goes on to note that he was involved in contacts with the Assad regime in 2022 to repair Hamas-Assad ties. The group left Syria in 2012.The report added that “interestingly, Hayya’s role as hostage deal negotiator for Hamas is not a new one for him. He participated in the hostage negotiations after Hamas kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006, and Israel subsequently traded 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for his release in 2011.Hayya was hardly the only Hamas leader to say it, but he proclaimed that the Shalit deal proved that kidnapping works, and he promised more abduction.” He is educated, having received a doctorate in Sudan. He was involved in academic research for several years in the late 1990s. He also ran in Palestinian elections in 2006.Hayya continues to support the October 7 massacre. In a 2025 interview shown on CGTN Europe it noted that “senior Hamas leader Khalil Hayya lauded the October 7 attack on Israel as a significant achievement, claiming it would be remembered with pride by future generations of Palestinians.” He also angered Egypt and Jordan by calling for their citizens to march toward Gaza.What Hayya's appointment could mean for HamasHe has been widely seen as a candidate for top leadership for years. He was already a member of the triumvirate of leadership that emerged after Sinwar’s death. He worked alongside Hamas Shura Council chairman Mohammed Darwish, Zaher Jabarin, and Khaled Meshaal.Considering his long background, it appears Hayya is not well placed to bring change to Hamas. In fact, it appears likely that he will seek to continue the same path that other leaders around him, some of them now deceased, have been doing for decades.Follow us on Google