Hamas announced on Monday that Khalil al-Hayya the group's lead negotiator in indirect ceasefire talks with Israel has been elected as the new head of its political bureau.
He succeeds Yahya al-Sinwar who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza last year. Israel accused Sinwar of being a principal architect of the October 7 2023 attacks.
Following Sinwar's death a five-member leadership council headed by senior official Mohammed Darwish temporarily managed the group. A senior official confirmed this council will now dissolve, with its members submitting their resignations to the group's Shura Council.
In the recent leadership contest Hayya defeated veteran leader and former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal. A senior Hamas official told AFP that Hayya won by an "overwhelming majority" and is expected to formally assume the role next week.
Born in 1960 Hayya survived an Israeli assassination attempt in Doha last year an attack that killed one of his sons.
According to a Hamas source the recent election was conducted using a highly secretive and complex mechanism due to severe security threats and the ongoing assassinations of political and military leaders.
Moving forward the political bureau plans to meet in Istanbul within days to form committees and begin restructuring the group's leadership bodies. Representatives of Hamas's armed wing the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades have already declared their "full support" for Hayya.
