Hamas said on Monday that it had elected Khalil al-Hayya, who steered the cease-fire and hostage talks with Israel during the Gaza war, as its new political chief after a nearly two-year leadership vacuum.

After months of delays and internal deliberations, top Hamas members elected Mr. al-Hayya in a tight race against Khaled Meshal, one of the group’s former leaders, Mahmoud Mardawi, a Hamas official, said in a phone interview.

Mr. al-Hayya, 65, previously served as the deputy to Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader who masterminded the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. About 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas-led assault and some 250 were taken hostage, according to the Israeli authorities.

The subsequent Israeli military campaign devastated the Gaza Strip, killing more than 70,000 people, according to Gaza health officials. Their count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, although it includes thousands of children.

Mr. al-Hayya’s elevation comes after months of deadlocked talks between Hamas, the Trump administration’s Board of Peace and Israel over the next steps in the October cease-fire that was supposed to end the war.

More than nine months later, the U.S.-brokered truce’s full promise has yet to be realized. Hamas has not agreed to disarm, Israeli forces continue to bomb Gaza on a near-daily basis and many Gazans are still living in squalid tent camps or the rubble of half-destroyed homes.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Want all of The Times? Subscribe.