Members of the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, took part in a rally in Gaza City on January 31, 2016. Credit: MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images

(CNN)-- The Palestinian Hamas movement announced Monday the election of Khalil al-Hayya as its new leader, who was the target of an Israeli assassination attempt in an airstrike in Doha last year.

Al-Hayya will be the first official leader of the movement since the assassination of Yahya Sinwar in October 2024. Although others have taken over the actual leadership of the movement, such as Sinwar's brother, al-Hayya is the first leader officially announced in about two years.

A statement from Hamas said the internal process included 'representatives' from various areas where the movement operates, 'including Gaza, the West Bank, occupation prisons, as well as other areas outside the country.'

This announcement comes two weeks after Hamas declared the dissolution of its government in Gaza under the ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States. In fact, Hamas has tightened its grip on the areas it controls in the Strip.

Al-Hayya, who resides in Doha, served as Hamas's chief negotiator in Gaza, which led to the ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States in October.

A month before the ceasefire, Israel launched airstrikes in Qatar targeting al-Hayya and several senior Hamas officials. The airstrike did not kill al-Hayya, but it did kill his son and office manager.