Hamas set to choose new leader amid Gaza ceasefire: report

Hamas is set to choose a new overall leader soon, the Saudi outlet Al-Sharq reported earlier this week, with Khalil al-Hayya, the head of Hamas’s Political Bureau in Gaza, and the former head of the group, Khaled Meshaal, likely to be the two main candidates.

Al-Sharq quoted sources close to the Hamas leadership as saying that Hamas’s General Shura Council, which includes around 50 members representing the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and the Palestinian diaspora, will vote for a new head of the movement’s General Political Bureau within the coming weeks.

Of the two most likely candidates, Al-Hayya – who currently heads Hamas’s operations in Gaza - is most likely to win, according to the sources.

Al-Hayya reportedly enjoys support beyond the Gaza Strip, with the head of the movement’s political bureau in the West Bank, Zaher Jabarin, backing him.

In July 2024, Israel assassinated Hamas’s Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital Tehran. Yahya Sinwar, who headed the group in Gaza, was chosen to replace him but was himself killed by Israel in Gaza in October 2024.

A joint Leadership Council then took over the movement but is due to be dissolved after the new leader is chosen.

Hamas usually holds general elections for its leadership every four years, with the last one being in 2021. The one due to be held in 2025 were postponed due to the Gaza War however, and now only the Shura Council will decide the leadership.

The sources who spoke to Al-Sharq said that al-Hayya, the most likely winner, would “maintain the current path based on armed confrontation with Israel in the Gaza Strip until the war ends and the Israeli army fully withdraws from the territory”.

Al-Hayya is also seen as close to Iran. Although he heads Hamas in Gaza, he is based in Qatar and was one of the targets of an Israeli strike on Doha which killed his son and five other people.

Despite the ceasefire in Gaza, Israel continues to occupy 58% of the devastated territory while carrying out near-daily attacks which have killed hundreds of people.

In contrast to Al-Hayya, Meshaal is seen as more favourable to a negotiated solution with Israel while being closer to Gulf Arab countries, rather than Iran. He also currently resides in Qatar.

Hamas’s decision to choose a new leader now is believed to be due to the ceasefire in Gaza which has somewhat calmed the crisis mode the movement was operating under, as well as divisions within the group over its future orientation and how to manage the new situation in Gaza and the region.