- Report: Hamas names new negotiating head
Hamas, the Islamist terror group, has reportedly appointed a new chief negotiator for ceasefire talks in the Gaza Strip following the killing of its external leader, Ismail Haniyeh. Khalil al-Haya will represent Hamas in the indirect negotiations, answering to the group's new leader, Yahya al-Sinwar, Saudi Arabian TV channel Al Hadath reported, citing three Palestinian sources, including a Hamas official. Haniyeh, who was recently assassinated in Tehran, was known as the group's chief diplomat.
Unlike his predecessor Haniyeh, who led a lavish lifestyle in Qatar as the head of the political bureau, Sinwar has been in hiding since ordering the Hamas massacre in the Israeli border area on October 7 last year. He is believed to be somewhere in the extensive tunnel network beneath the blockaded coastal strip. While Hamas' leadership was previously divided between a chief for the Gaza Strip and one outside the coastal area, power is now concentrated in Sinwar's hands.
It remains to be seen how this will affect efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict. Even before Haniyeh's killing, Sinwar was considered the "final authority" on Hamas' positions in indirect negotiations with Israel, with Qatar, Egypt, and the US acting as mediators. In talks over the exchange of more than a hundred Hamas-held hostages for Palestinian prisoners, Sinwar showed no signs of compromise. So far, he has categorically rejected compromises with Israel.
The following appointment of Khalil al-Haya as Hamas' chief negotiator for ceasefire talks was announced in the wake of Ismail Haniyeh's assassination. The following decision to consolidate power in Yahya al-Sinwar's hands has resulted in a shift in Hamas' leadership dynamics.
