BEIRUT — The Palestinian militant group Hamas says it has chosen Yahya Sinwar, its top official in Gaza who masterminded the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, as its new leader.

Hamas said in a statement Tuesday it named Sinwar as the new head of its political bureau to replace Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Iran last week in a presumed Israeli strike.

Sinwar has not made any public appearances since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel in which militants killed 1,200 people and took about 250 as hostages, triggering Israel’s now 10-month-old campaign in Gaza.