On the 20th, Hamas announced the appointment of Haya as its new leader.
The statement said that Haya has been elected Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, succeeding Sinwar, who recently died.
Haya, 65, has held important internal positions in Hamas since 2006, and is one of the few remaining senior founding members of the organization. Haya is the chief representative of Hamas in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations.
In October 2024, Israel announced that Sinwar had died during Israeli military operations in Gaza. Hamas subsequently confirmed the news.