Officials say the majority of the group’s Shura council members voted for him.

Mashaal had previously indicated he would not seek another term, but officials told Maan news agency that Arab and Palestinian figures asked him to seek the top spot once again.

The 56-year-old has headed the political bureau of Hamas since 1996.

His re-election could revive stalled reconciliation efforts between Hamas and political rival Mahmoud Abbas, AP says.

Hamas seized the Gaza Strip in 2007, leaving Abbas with a self-rule government, the Palestinian Authority, in parts of the West Bank. Both sides have become entrenched in their territories, hampering reconciliation.

Meshaal, set foot in Gaza for the first time in December since leaving the West Bank in 1967.

Meshaal ran the group from exile in Damascus from 2004 a few months before he left the Syrian capital because of unrest in Syria and to avoid pressure from Syrian authorities to side himself with President bashar al-Assad, according to sources. He now divides his time between Qatar and Cairo.

Hamas continues with its view that it will not recognize the Jewish state officially, and it is viewed as a terrorist group by Israel, the United States and most Western governments.

Tens of thousands are expected to attend the rally marking the founding of the Islamist movement and celebrating victory against the Israeli forces that ended days of violence between Hamas-run Gaza and Israel last month.

Israel rejects Hamas’s assertion that it won the eight-day conflict, which left 170 Palestinians and six Israelis dead and was ended by an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire.

Mashaal’s speech is expected to push for reconciliation with his rival Fatah movement during, according to Maan news agency.

“Meshaal’s speech will outline the priorities of the Hamas movement in the future, and especially the implementation of reconciliation with Fatah,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.

A delegation representing Fatah is scheduled to attend the anniversary events for the first time since the 2007 fighting between both parties, Maan new reported.

Meshaal, 56, Meshaal has not set foot in Gaza home to 1.7 million Palestinians since leaving the West Bank in 1967. His visit The Islamist militant group has governed Gaza since 2007.

Meshaal ran the group from exile in Damascus from 2004 a few months beforewhen he left the Syrian capital because of unrest in Syria. He now divides his time between Qatar and Cairo.

Hamas continues with its view that it will not recognize the Jewish state officially, and it is viewed as a terrorist group by Israel, the United States and most Western governments.

Khaled Meshaal told journalists in Cairo that he had the same opinion with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and with Arab League chief Nabeel Al Arabi over the hunger stike issue and were in  ”full coordination.”

Al-Arabi has denounced Israeli detention policies as being inhumane and in violation of human rights.

Approximately 1,200 Palestinian prisoners began an open hunger strike on 17 April, with the campaign gaining further momentum over this past week and additional prisoners joining daily, according to Addameer support and human rights association.

Addameer estimates that the current number of prisoners engaged in open hunger strike is around 2,000. This number includes the 19 prisoners currently held in isolation for “security reasons.” Ahmad Sa’adat, the imprisoned Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), who has been held in isolation for over three years, reported on 23 April that since the beginning of his hunger strike on 17 April, he had already lost 6 kg.

According to Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics and prisoner advocacy groups, there are currently over 6,000 Palestinian prisoners, including legislators, in Israeli jails, many of whom have been rounded up without charge or trial.

Palestinian sources reported, Sunday, that detained secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Ahmad Sa’adat, was moved to the Ramla prison hospital after the deterioration of his health condition.

The Quds Net News Agency reported that detainees of the PFLP rejected an Israeli offer to end their hunger-strike in exchange for removing Sa’adat from solitary confinement, and stated that Israel must stop all of its violations, and put an end to its illegal solitary confinement policies.