Hamas appoints new leader following Haniyeh's assassination.
The Islamic movement Hamas has appointed Yahya Sinwar, the movement's leader in Gaza, as the successor to former political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran last week.
Sinwar, the mastermind behind the October 7 attack, considered the deadliest against Israel in decades, had been hiding in Gaza, despite all Israeli assassination attempts since the war began.
"The Islamic resistance movement Hamas declares its choice of Commander Yahya Sinwar as the head of the movement's political body, succeeding the martyred Commander Ismail Haniyeh. May Allah have mercy on him," Hamas said in a brief statement.
News of the appointment was greeted by a barrage of rockets from Gaza fired by militant groups still fighting Israeli troops in the besieged territory.
Sinwar was the most powerful Hamas leader alive after the assassination of Haniyeh, an event that pushed the region to the brink of a wider regional conflict following Iran's vow of harsh retaliation.
Israel has not claimed responsibility for the assassination but has stated that it killed other senior leaders, including Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri, who was killed in Beirut, and Mohammed Deif, the movement's military commander.
A senior Hamas official told AFP that the selection of Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar as Hamas's new political leader sends a "strong message... of resistance" to Israel.
This choice is "a strong message to the occupying forces (Israel) that Hamas continues its path of resistance," the unnamed official said.