Hamas names Khalil al-Hayya as new leader, pledges to rebuild Gaza and unite Palestinians

Khalil al-Hayya, the newly elected leader of Hamas, has issued a televised address vowing to rebuild Gaza and alleviate the suffering of its people. Speaking to the "steadfast and patient Palestinian people," al-Hayya also pledged to free political prisoners held in Israel and unite Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem under a single "free and proud Palestine."

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Our first and foremost commitment is to continue on the same path, carrying the banner high and fluttering, until it flies over Al-Aqsa Mosque and the lands of a free and proud Palestine, for which the free and sincere among all the forces and factions of our people and its righteous sons have struggled and fought.

Al-Hayya was selected as the new head of Hamas's political bureau by the General Shura Council, defeating former leader Khaled Meshaal in a run-off vote. He succeeds Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by the Israeli army in Gaza in 2024. Prior to his appointment, al-Hayya was a member of the five-man ruling council that led Hamas following Sinwar's death.

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Greetings to our people in occupied Jerusalem, the compass and the heart of our struggle, and to its Al-Aqsa Mosque, its minarets, and its churches.

In his address, broadcast by Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV, al-Hayya called for an immediate and complete cessation of Israeli aggression in Gaza. He reaffirmed Hamas's long-standing objective, outlined in a 2017 policy document, of achieving a Palestinian state encompassing Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, with East Jerusalem as its capital. "Our first and foremost commitment is to continue on the same path, carrying the banner high and fluttering, until it flies over Al-Aqsa Mosque and the lands of a free and proud Palestine," he stated.

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And greetings to the steadfast West Bank … This West Bank, which the enemy seeks to seize and Judaise, is a responsibility and a trust placed upon our shoulders as long as we live.

Al-Hayya also extended greetings to Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank, describing Jerusalem as the "compass and the heart of our struggle" and the West Bank as a "responsibility and a trust." He promised that Palestinians in Gaza would not be driven out and that Hamas would work to rebuild the territory and ease the inhabitants' suffering. "People of Gaza, my family and my people, among whom I have spent my life, we know you," he said, acknowledging their resilience.

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People of Gaza, my family and my people, among whom I have spent my life, we know you