New Hamas Leader Khalil al-Hayya Vows Gaza Reconstruction in First Speech
The essence of the restoration movement is to build civilisation and strengthen the quality of humanity.
Hamas’s new leader, Khalil al-Hayya, has delivered his first televised address to the Palestinian people. In the speech, he pledged to rebuild the Gaza Strip, ease the suffering of its residents, secure the release of political prisoners held in Israel, and unify Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem into a single independent Palestinian state.
Appearing in a suit and open-collared shirt without a tie, against a backdrop of Palestinian and Hamas flags, al-Hayya spoke via Hamas’s Al-Aqsa TV channel on Wednesday (22 January) local time. He affirmed that his group would resist any attempt to expel Palestinian residents from Gaza, and expressed gratitude to the countries working to end the war.
Al-Hayya was elected by the General Shura Council on Monday (20 January) as the new head of Hamas’s political bureau, defeating former political leader Khaled Meshaal in a second-round vote. He succeeds Yahya Sinwar, who was killed in an Israeli military operation in Gaza in 2024.
In his speech, al-Hayya set out several crucial priorities for the group going forward:
Al-Hayya stated that Hamas’s main objective is to realise a Palestinian state encompassing Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, with East Jerusalem as its capital. “Our primary commitment is to continue along the same path, raising the banner until it flies over the Al-Aqsa Mosque and a free Palestine,” he declared.
He pledged that Hamas would work hard to restore a decent life for the people of Gaza. Al-Hayya stressed that reconstruction is an inherent right of the Palestinian people and must not be linked to any political concessions. “We understand how great your suffering is, living in tents and emergency shelters,” he told the residents of Gaza.
Al-Hayya swore to work towards freeing Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, ending their suffering and providing a decent life in recognition of the sacrifices they have made.
He warned the international community that stability in the Middle East will never be achieved without justice for the Palestinian people. According to him, what is happening in the region today proves that the stability of the Palestinian people is the key to the stability of the region as a whole.
Al-Hayya expressed appreciation to Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye for their mediation efforts to stop the bloodshed in Gaza. However, he made no mention of the United States’ role in his speech.
He urged the sponsoring states of the negotiations to exert real pressure on the Israeli occupation government to comply with the terms of the US-backed ceasefire agreed in October 2025, which he said had so far been ignored by the Israeli side.
Closing his speech, al-Hayya expressed his conviction that, through hard work and the support of a sympathetic world community, the Palestinian people would be able to achieve their goal of independence.