An old hand very familiar to Israel has emerged as the new political leader of Hamas following a secret insider election that took months to unfold, and one regional expert said the development signals the terrorist group will not be charting a new course.

Khalil al-Hayya, who has been a key negotiator for Hamas and who has survived multiple alleged assassination attempts, will now lead the group’s political bureau. But Middle East Institute Senior Fellow Jaser AbuMousa told Fox News Digital his election is not exactly a passing of the torch.

«Expect more of the same, deliberately,» AbuMousa said. «Al-Hayya is Hamas’s chief negotiator and its ultimate institutional survivor, so you’ll see continued engagement at the negotiating table, ceasefire talks, prisoner exchanges, but do not mistake that for moderation.»

HAMAS SAYS IT WILL DISSOLVE GAZA GOVERNMENT, BUT ISRAEL WARNS GROUP STILL SEEKS HEZBOLLAH-STYLE CONTROL

«Al-Hayya’s victory is best understood as an act of institutional self-preservation: a battered organization reaching for the most familiar hand available,» AbuMousa warned. «He is an experienced operator, and his elevation signals that Hamas, after the destruction of Gaza and the losses since Oct. 7, 2023, has prioritized organizational cohesion, armed continuity, and the preservation of its Iranian relationship over a genuine political reassessment.»

Several members of al-Hayya’s family, including four sons and other relatives, have also been killed in Israeli operations, according to reports.

In September 2025, Israel reportedly sought to kill al-Hayya in Qatar, striking a building where the Hamas delegation was staying.

«This is the paradox of Hamas leadership right now: the top job is essentially a death sentence, which is part of why the chair sat empty for nearly two years after Sinwar was killed,» the expert said.

ISRAEL’S MILITARY ELIMINATES HAMAS TERRORIST WHO HELPED ABDUCT AMERICAN-ISRAELI HOSTAGE, 3 OTHERS

Analysts say Al-Hayya’s elevation signals that Hamas, after the destruction of Gaza and the losses since Oct. 7, 2023, has prioritized organizational cohesion, armed continuity, and the preservation of its Iranian relationship. (Iranian Leader Press Office / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

«Al-Hayya himself also survived the Israeli strike in Doha last September. For an ordinary executive, that would be disqualifying,» he noted. «Inside Hamas it’s the opposite — surviving assassination is a credential.»

«Expect him to lead the way his predecessors did: rarely in public, moving between Doha and mediating capitals, communicating through statements and negotiators rather than appearances, with the real command decentralized so no single strike decapitates the movement,» AbuMousa continued. «An organization that rewards who has suffered most, rather than who has led best, has no real mechanism to correct course after a catastrophe like this one. That’s what should make anyone nervous.»

«Al-Hayya lost his four sons, which is a real and profound loss for any father. But two things can be true at once,» he noted. «His personal grief is genuine, and inside Hamas that sacrifice also functions as political capital that lifts him above criticism.»

IDF CLAIMS TO HAVE TAKEN OUT HAMAS COMMANDER WHO PARTICIPATED IN OCT 7

Al-Hayya replaced Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in late 2024. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)

While Al-Hayya replaced Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in October 2024, his rise to power followed a secret election that stretched over months.

«After the near-total destruction of Gaza and staggering losses since Oct. 7, Hamas had a moment to reassess, and it chose continuity instead,» AbuMousa said. «It elevated a loyal survivor tied to Iran and the military wing rather than someone offering a different path.»

«The real story,» according to AbuMousa, «is that Hamas decided its safest bet was to remain exactly what it was: armed, aligned with Tehran, and unwilling to reckon with where its own decisions led Gaza.»

He also cautioned against viewing the leadership vote as a mandate from Gazans.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

«This was a closed vote by a leadership council, not an election by the roughly 2 million Gazans whose lives Hamas claims to represent and who haven’t voted since 2006. Many of them blame Hamas for exposing them to this catastrophe,» he said.

«And watch the likely governance model: not a return to running Gaza openly, but a Hezbollah-style arrangement where Hamas sheds visible responsibility while keeping its weapons, its security structures, and a veto over any political deal,» he added.

Uno de los incendios en Ávila, al noroeste de Madrid, afectó cerca de 50.000 hectáreas. Foto Reuters

Una «tormenta de fuego»

Nueva ola de calor

Una enorme columna de humo en el avance del fuego en Bexti, España. Foto Pedro Nunes / Reuters

Newly released diary entries by Dr. Anthony Fauci offer an unfiltered look at what the nation’s top infectious disease expert really thought of the politicians, television personalities and celebrities who filled his orbit during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Released by Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., the diaries chronicle Fauci’s day-to-day role during the COVID-19 pandemic through meetings, phone calls and personal observations. The release comes days before Fauci is scheduled to testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee after being subpoenaed by Paul.

The entries feature everyone from President Donald Trump to Julia Roberts, Steph Curry, Larry Ellison and Hunter Biden, offering an unusually personal look at the people who crossed Fauci’s path during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early entries portray a warm working relationship between Fauci and Trump. Fauci wrote that Trump repeatedly directed questions to him during White House meetings, called him «the smartest person in the world,» told him, «We are counting on you,» and later appeared «enamored» with him as Fauci’s national profile grew.

FAUCI’S NEWLY RELEASED COVID DIARIES REVEAL BIZARRE FIXATION ON FAME AS PANDEMIC DEATHS MOUNTED

Fauci’s relationship with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows deteriorated throughout the pandemic. Fauci wrote that Meadows threatened to keep him off television, repeatedly pushed him to soften his public messaging and, in one entry, recounted Meadows «screaming» over his public comments.

Fauci, however, repeatedly described then-White House communications director Alyssa Farah as an ally during internal battles over media appearances. In one May 2020 entry, he wrote that Farah admitted White House staff had been «holding me back,» said the situation had «gotten out of hand» and promised to begin clearing his television requests again.

Not everyone in the administration’s communications operation earned Fauci’s praise. In a July 2, 2020 entry, Fauci called then-HHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Michael Caputo «a con man who is completely full of sh–,» writing that Caputo publicly claimed to support his television appearances while privately blocking them.

Television journalists also became recurring figures in Fauci’s diary. CNN anchor Jake Tapper appears repeatedly, with Fauci documenting phone calls, text exchanges and dinners at the Tappers’ Washington home.

LEGACY MEDIA IGNORES MASSIVE ANTHONY FAUCI DOCUMENT RELEASE ALLEGING HE MISLED CONGRESS ON COVID ORIGINS

CNN anchor Jake Tapper appears repeatedly in Dr. Anthony Fauci’s newly released COVID-19 diary, which documents phone calls, text exchanges and dinners at Tapper’s Washington home. (Bryan Bedder/Variety/Getty Images)

Fauci wrote that Tapper privately checked to make sure a CNN interview hadn’t caused problems with the White House. When The Atlantic’s Peter Nicholas suggested Fauci had been «humiliated» over a canceled Tapper interview, Fauci fired back in his diary: «F— you, Peter.»

After Fauci’s heated exchange with Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, Fauci wrote that CNN’s Dana Bash texted him, telling him he was «a better man» and relaying that fellow CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer had joked no one would have blamed Fauci if he had told Jordan to «go f— yourself.»

The following day, Fauci wrote that Bash texted him again, this time pointing him to a Vanity Fair headline mocking Jordan’s performance at the hearing.

The diary also features colorful asides about billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, whom Fauci described as «a bit of a loose cannon» while discussing White House efforts to use Oracle technology during the pandemic.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Fauci served as chief medical adviser to President Donald Trump during the COVID-19 pandemic before later continuing in the role under President Joe Biden. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Beyond politicians and White House aides, Fauci’s diary reads at times like a Hollywood guest list. Actress Julia Roberts hosted Fauci on Instagram Live, sent him flowers and later presented him with an award, while Vogue editor Anna Wintour, comedian Trevor Noah, NBA star Steph Curry, actors Sean Penn and Matt Damon, and rapper Lil Wayne also make appearances as Fauci documented his growing celebrity during the pandemic.

The diary closes with another unexpected cameo. At the 2022 Kennedy Center Honors, Fauci wrote that he hugged Hunter Biden, who joked the internet «would explode» if someone photographed them together because they were both «being attacked by the far right GOP.»