Khalil al-Hayya delivered his inaugural televised address following his selection on Monday as the new political chief of Hamas by the General Shura Council. The speech, broadcast on Al-Aqsa TV on Wednesday, outlined the organization’s priorities and vision for the Palestinian territories. Al-Hayya succeeded Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in 2024, taking over from an interim five-member ruling council that had led the group in the interim period.
In his remarks, al-Hayya reaffirmed Hamas’s foundational objective of establishing a Palestinian state encompassing Gaza and the West Bank, with East Jerusalem designated as its capital. This goal aligns with the organization’s revised policy document from 2017. The new leader directly addressed Palestinians across different regions, offering specific greetings to residents of Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza, emphasizing the importance of these territories to the Palestinian cause and pledging resistance against what he characterized as Israeli efforts to seize and alter the demographic composition of Palestinian lands.
A significant portion of al-Hayya’s address focused on Gaza’s humanitarian situation. He acknowledged the severe suffering of Gaza’s population, including displacement, food insecurity, and inadequate shelter, and committed Hamas to alleviating these conditions and facilitating reconstruction. Al-Hayya framed reconstruction and improved living standards not as negotiable matters but as inherent rights of the Palestinian people that cannot be conditional on political concessions or trade-offs.
Al-Hayya emphasized Hamas’s commitment to securing the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli detention, describing their liberation as a priority objective. He highlighted the historical continuity of Palestinian resistance across generations and various uprisings, positioning current efforts within this broader narrative of sustained struggle for rights and territorial claims.
Regarding international involvement, al-Hayya expressed appreciation for mediation efforts by Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey while calling on the international community to pressure Israel to implement terms of a ceasefire agreement reached in October 2025 that he stated Israel has largely disregarded. He asserted that regional stability depends on fair treatment of Palestinians and that international justice standards require protection of Gaza’s population.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI