Hamas is expected to elect a new leader this month to fill the vacancy left after Israel killed Yahya Sinwar in 2024, Reuters sources say. Khalil Al-Hayya and Khaled Meshaal, both based in Qatar and members of a five-person council, are the main contenders. The Shoura Council will vote by secret ballot and also choose a deputy to replace Saleh Al-Arouri. Hamas faces severe internal and external challenges, including widespread destruction in Gaza and mounting international pressure to disarm.
Hamas To Elect New Leader This Month; Al-Hayya And Meshaal Emerge As Frontrunners
A screengrab shows according to the Israeli Army, Hamas Gaza chief Mohammad Sinwar, taken from a handout video, released December 17, 2023. Israeli Army/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
CAIRO, Jan 13 (Reuters) — Hamas is expected to elect a new leader later this month, two sources inside the group told Reuters, filling the post left vacant after Israel killed Yahya Sinwar in 2024. Sources say the vote is already underway despite concerns a successor could face the same fate.
Khalil Al-Hayya and Khaled Meshaal, both based in Qatar, are viewed as the leading contenders. Each sits on a five-member council that has guided Hamas since Sinwar's death; their predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in 2024 while visiting Iran, according to Reuters reporting.
The movement’s leader is chosen by secret ballot within the Shoura Council, a 50-member body that includes representatives from the Gaza Strip, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and members in exile, the sources said. A deputy leader is also expected to be chosen to replace Saleh Al-Arouri, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon in 2024.
Hamas Faces Tough Challenges
People close to Hamas told Reuters the group is determined to complete the vote, though some members prefer extending collective leadership rather than installing a single head so soon. Observers describe Meshaal as aligned with a more pragmatic wing that has cultivated ties with Sunni Arab states, while Al-Hayya — Hamas’ chief negotiator — is seen as closer to the faction that deepened relations with Iran.
Hamas confronts some of its most serious tests since its founding in 1987. Fighting in Gaza has largely quieted since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in October, but Israel continues to control nearly half the coastal enclave, sporadic attacks persist, and living conditions for Gaza's roughly two million residents remain dire.
Gaza health authorities report more than 71,000 people killed in the conflict. Reuters has also reported that Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people and abducted 251 during the October 7, 2023 cross-border assault on Israel. The group has faced heavy internal criticism in Gaza over the humanitarian toll and widespread destruction.
International Pressure And Political Stakes
Western governments, including the United States, designate Hamas as a terrorist organization. U.S. President Donald Trump’s ceasefire proposal calls for Hamas to disarm and for Gaza to be governed by a technocratic Palestinian administration overseen by an international Board of Peace — an outcome Hamas has so far rejected, saying that the role of armed resistance must be decided in wider Palestinian discussions and that weapons could be given up only to a future Palestinian state.
Analyst Reham Owda told Reuters she sees limited policy differences between Al-Hayya and Meshaal on the core confrontation with Israel but believes Meshaal may have an advantage because he can "market [Hamas] internationally and help rebuild its capabilities."
A Hamas spokesperson declined to comment on the vote.
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