Hamas on Monday named Khalil al-Hayya, one of the founding members of the Palestinian militant group, as its new leader. Hayya is seen as a respected and pragmatic Hamas veteran “who doesn’t get carried away easily”. Last year, he survived an Israeli attack in Doha targeting the Hamas leadership which left several people dead, including one of his sons.
For months, veteran Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya spearheaded the group's indirect ceasefire negotiations with arch-foe Israel in an effort to halt the war in Gaza.
