Hamas is expected to have a new leader soon. An AFP source from the movement said the process has reached its final stage, and that the choice effectively comes down to a “runoff” between Khaled Meshaal and Khalil al-Hayya.

Hamas recently completed the formation of its new Shura Council and Political Bureau. Council members are elected every four years by Hamas representatives in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and by the leadership based elsewhere. Hamas members held in Israeli prisons also have voting rights. The Shura Council then elects the Political Bureau, which selects the movement’s leader.

According to the AFP source, “the movement has completed internal elections in the three regions and is in the final phase of selecting the head of the Political Bureau.” A second Hamas source confirmed these developments following reports earlier this week by the BBC.

Hamas’s leadership has been severely disrupted by Israeli military operations that struck the Gaza Strip after the October 7, 2023 attack in Israel.

Khaled Meshaal, who turns 70 this year and is a former head of the Political Bureau, is now the movement’s top figure abroad. He is believed to be living in Doha and, the Guardian notes, to have strong ties to Qatar and Turkey. Khalil al-Hayya, 65, is a member of the Political Bureau and played a leading role in mediated negotiations with Israel that led to the ceasefire in Gaza announced in October last year. He lives in the Gulf and is regarded by the British paper as the likely “successor” to Yahya Sinwar, who is viewed as close to Iran.

Hamas “will issue a statement once the movement’s president has been chosen, likely during the month of Ramadan,” which has just begun, the AFP source said.

Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas political leader, was killed in an Israeli raid in Tehran in July two years ago. In October 2024, Yahya Sinwar was killed in the southern Gaza Strip.