Hamas, the Palestinian armed faction, has elected Khalil al-Hayya as its new top leader.
Hamas said in a statement on the 20th (local time) that it "elected Khalil al-Hayya as the top leader of the Hamas political bureau to succeed the martyred Yahya Sinwar."
Sinwar, the previous top leader, died in October 2024 during an Israeli military operation in Rafah in southern Gaza.
After Sinwar's death, Hamas operated the organization for about two years under a five-member leadership committee, including al-Hayya.
Al-Hayya is from Gaza and spent most of his life there, and is known as a figure who worked in Hamas for a long time and earned deep trust from Sinwar.
He left Gaza just before Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023 surprise attack on Israel and moved to Qatar, where the political bureau is based, and since October 2024 has served as the No. 2 official in the Hamas political bureau.
Al-Hayya survived when Israel struck Qatar last October targeting Hamas's political leadership. He then led negotiations with Israel for a hostage exchange during the Gaza war and has served as Hamas's chief representative in cease-fire talks to end the war.