Khaled Mashal is a Palestinian politician who served as chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau from 1996 until May 2017, where he was succeeded by Ismail Haniyeh. He has also covered duties as the de facto leader of Hamas twice, from July 2024 until August 2024 and from August 2024, after both leaders was assassinated/killed by Israel. He was regarded as one of the most prominent leaders of Hamas since the death of Ahmed Yassin, alongside Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar

Israel's occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip during the 1967 Six-Day War forced Mashal's family to flee and he has since then lived in other parts of the Arab world in exile. For that reason, he was considered part of Hamas' "external leadership". After the founding of Hamas in the wake of the First Intifada against the Israeli occupation in 1987, Mashal became the leader of the Kuwaiti branch of the organization.

Under his leadership, Hamas secured a surprise majority of the seats in the Palestinian legislative election in 2006. He does not believe that there is a contradiction between Hamas' and religious diversity He views the goal of Hamas to be to "end the Zionist occupation; to liberate the land and the holy places; to reclaim Palestinian rights; to secure the return of the refugees to their nation, lands, and homes; and to reclaim Jerusalem." Mashal wants the future Palestinian state to be one that "is open to the world, far from fanaticism, and one that promotes tolerance and accepts all.

Mashal believes that peace with Israel requires two things: that the Palestinian refugees that fled from, or were expelled by, Israeli forces in the 1948 Israeli War of Independence in which the Jewish State was established are allowed to return and that Israel withdraws from the territories it occupied in the 1967 war. Israel has said it would never agree to let all of the refugees return. In a meeting with former U.S. president Jimmy Carter in 2008, Mashal clarified that any agreement with Israel would have to be ratified with the Palestinian people in a referendum. Mashal later suggested a 10-year-truce (hudna) if Israel withdrew to the 1967 border. He considered this a proof of recognition: "We have offered a truce if Israel withdraws to the 1967 borders, a truce of 10 years as a proof of recognition".

Mashal was a vocal critic of the Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, often refusing to follow directives issued by the PA regarding ceasefires with Israel. Mashal was considered a key force behind this policy, along with Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. However, Mashal did attend Arafat's funeral, in Cairo on 12 November 2004.