Palestinian group Hamas has named Gaza Strip chief Yahya Sinwar as its new political head after the assassination of former leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week.
"The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas announces the selection of leader Yahya Sinwar as the head of the political bureau of the movement," a statement from the group said, reported AFP.
Moments after the announcement, Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades said it fired a series of rockets from the Gaza Strip towards Israel.
The Israeli military and officials have accused Sinwar of being one of the masterminds behind the October 7 attacks that triggered that war in Gaza.
Sinwar's appointment comes less than a week after Haniyeh was killed in Tehran for which Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel.
The decision to appoint Sinwar as the new Hamas chief was welcomed by Hezbollah which called it a strong message to Israel and the US, "showing that Hamas is united in its decision-making," reported Al Jazeera.
Who Is Yahya Sinwar?
Sinwar, 61, was born in a refugee camp in Gaza, south of Khan Younis in 1962. He graduated from the Islamic University of Gaza, where he was repeatedly arrested by Israel for his involvement in anti-corruption activism.
In 1987, Sinwar joined Hamas as one of its leaders almost as soon as the group was founded by Shaikh Ahmad Yasin. In 2017, he became the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
He spent 23 years in an Israeli jail where he learned Hebrew and became well-versed in Israeli affairs and diplomatic politics. He was freed in 2011 as part of the prisoner exchange deal.
He is one of the leaders from the Palestinian group for whom the International Criminal Court sought an arrest warrant over allegations of war crimes committed on October 7.
The ICC had also issued warrants against some Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence chief Yoav Gallant, for alleged war crimes in Gaza.