The Palestinian armed group "Hamas" has announced Khalil al-Haya as its supreme leader, the movement said in a statement, quoted by DPA, BTA reported.
He will head the movement's Political Bureau, succeeding Yahya Sinwar, who was killed in an Israeli military operation in October 2024.
After Sinwar's death, al-Haya was part of the five-member council that led "Hamas". He was also the organization's chief negotiator in talks to reach a lasting peace agreement for the Gaza Strip.
Haya was born in Gaza, but in recent years has lived mainly in Qatar. Before that, he was the highest-ranking representative of "Hamas" outside the Palestinian territories.
Last year, the Israeli air force attempted to strike the top leadership of "Hamas" in the Qatari capital Doha, and media reports said Haya was among the targets. Four of his sons were killed in Israeli strikes, including one in Doha.
In the internal elections, Haya defeated Khaled Mashal, who led "Hamas" from 1996 to 2017. and also lives in Doha. In the past, Mashal survived an assassination attempt organized by the Israeli intelligence service "Mossad".
In recent years, Israel has eliminated several high-ranking Hamas leaders, including Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in 2024, and after him Sinwar took over the leadership of the movement.
Although a ceasefire has been in effect in the Gaza Strip since October last year, deadly attacks continue. The disarmament of "Hamas", provided for in US President Donald Trump's peace plan, has not yet been implemented, DPA reports.
Israel continues to control more than half of the territory of the Gaza Strip, while "Hamas" has regained control of the areas it held since the beginning of the ceasefire.