Gaza Strip, July 21 -- Khalil al-Hayya was elected head of Hamas' political bureau on Monday, July 20, after winning a run-off vote against former political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal, becoming the Palestinian group's top political leader. According to reports, al-Hayya secured 35 votes to Meshaal's 34 in the movement's General Shura Council.

The veteran Hamas official succeeds Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in October 2024. His election comes after nearly two years in which he emerged as one of the group's leading political figures and chief negotiators during indirect ceasefire talks.

Born in Gaza City on November 5, 1960, al-Hayya became active in the Muslim Brotherhood during the early 1980s before joining H...