Khalil Ismail al-Hayya (Arabic: خليل إسماعيل الحية; b. 5 November 1960, Gaza) is a Palestinian politician and one of the senior leaders of Hamas. He has held various roles within the political and organizational structure of the movement since its founding. He served as a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, held senior leadership positions within Hamas’s Gaza structure, and led Hamas’s delegation in indirect ceasefire and prisoner exchange negotiations with Israel. In July 2026, he was elected to the position of Chairman of Hamas’s Political Bureau.

Khalil Ismail al-Hayya was born on 5 November 1960 in Gaza. He completed his primary and secondary education in Gaza. He pursued higher education at the Department of Basic Islamic Sciences at Gaza Islamic University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1983. He continued his academic studies at the University of Jordan, earning a master’s degree in 1986 in the field of Sunnah and Hadith sciences. He completed his doctoral studies at the University of the Qur’an and Islamic Sciences in Sudan, obtaining a PhD in the same field in 1997.

Al-Hayya began his academic career as a faculty member at Gaza Islamic University, where he held various academic and administrative positions. In 2001 he was appointed Dean of Student Affairs. During the same period, he served as president of the Gaza Islamic University Employees Union and participated in initiatives related to the university’s academic and administrative structure.

Al-Hayya’s political activities began in the early 1980s within the Muslim Brotherhood movement. He met Sheikh Ahmed Yasin, one of Hamas’s founders, during this period and became active within the Islamic Bloc operating within the university. After Hamas was established in 1987, he participated in its founding process and engaged in organizational activities during the First Intifada.

He has held various political and administrative roles within Hamas, including leadership positions in the Office of Arab and Islamic World Relations and the Central Media Office. He served in multiple capacities within Hamas’s political structure in Gaza and participated in its decision-making mechanisms.

In the 2006 Palestinian Legislative Council elections, he was elected as a member of parliament on Hamas’s Change and Reform List. During his tenure in the Legislative Council, he worked within Hamas’s parliamentary bloc and contributed to the movement’s political activities.

For many years in Gaza, he served as deputy to Yahya Sinwar. After Sinwar was killed in an Israeli operation in October 2024, al-Hayya assumed responsibility for Hamas’s operations in Gaza. During the same period, he served on Hamas’s five-member interim leadership council.

Following the outbreak of the Gaza War on 7 October 2023, Khalil al-Hayya became one of Hamas’s principal international political representatives. He led Hamas’s delegation in indirect ceasefire negotiations with Israel, representing the movement in talks mediated by Egypt and Qatar. During the same period, he coordinated prisoner exchange negotiations and participated in diplomatic engagements on behalf of Hamas.

In statements made during the negotiation process, he insisted that any ceasefire agreement must include the cessation of Israel’s military operations, the lifting of the blockade on the Gaza Strip, and the establishment of a permanent ceasefire. He undertook diplomatic efforts to communicate Hamas’s political stance to the international public.

Throughout the conflict, al-Hayya conducted negotiations on behalf of Hamas with Qatar, Egypt, and other regional actors. He chaired Hamas’s political negotiation delegation and emerged as one of the key figures responsible for managing ceasefire and prisoner exchange processes.

On 20 July 2026, Khalil al-Hayya was elected Chairman of Hamas’s Political Bureau, thereby assuming the movement’s highest political leadership position following the deaths of Ismail Haniyeh in July 2024 and Yahya Sinwar in October 2024.

His election marked the conclusion of the five-member interim leadership council that had managed Hamas since Sinwar’s death. In an official statement, Hamas announced that the Political Bureau would be restructured and new committees established to form a new leadership structure.

Al-Hayya’s election was interpreted as reflecting the continued dominance of Gaza-based political cadres within Hamas’s decision-making mechanisms. Due to his leadership role in ceasefire negotiations, he has become one of the primary figures responsible for conducting Hamas’s international diplomatic outreach.

Khalil al-Hayya has been detained on multiple occasions by Israeli security forces due to his political activities. His longest detention occurred in 1991, when he was held in Israeli prisons for approximately three years. Palestinian sources report that he was subjected to torture during his first detention.

In subsequent years, al-Hayya became the target of multiple Israeli assassination attempts. In a 2007 attack on his family home in Gaza, seven of his relatives were killed. In 2008, his son Hamza, a member of the Qassam Brigades, was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

During the 2014 clashes in Gaza, his eldest son Usama, his daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren were killed in an Israeli bombardment. In September 2025, during an Israeli attack targeting the Hamas negotiation delegation in Doha, Qatar, his son Humaam was killed. In May 2026, his other son Azzam died from wounds sustained in an Israeli strike on the al-Derec neighborhood in eastern Gaza. As a result of these losses, al-Hayya has at times been referred to in Palestinian public opinion as the “father of four martyrs.”

Khalil al-Hayya has been among the senior officials responsible for managing Hamas’s external relations. In 2022, he led a Hamas delegation to Damascus aimed at re-establishing relations between Hamas and the Syrian government. In November 2023, he represented Hamas in talks with Hezbollah leadership in Lebanon.

In his political activities based in Qatar, he has played a central role in advancing Hamas’s regional diplomatic relations. He has been among the officials authorized to represent the movement in ceasefire negotiations, prisoner exchange talks, and broader regional diplomatic engagements.

Khalil al-Hayya is regarded as one of the long-serving leaders within Hamas’s political and organizational structure. He has participated in the movement’s political decision-making mechanisms, contributed to the management of its external relations, and represented Hamas in indirect negotiations with Israel.

His political activities have been shaped by Hamas’s governance structure in Gaza, its regional diplomatic relations, and its ceasefire negotiations. Within this framework, he has served as one of the movement’s principal political representatives and played a role in its international diplomatic initiatives.