Khaled Mashaal, the diaspora director of Hamas, has tested positive for the coronavirus after coming into contact with a confirmed carrier, according to Palestinian reports published Monday, which have been confirmed by the terrorist group. 

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Mashaal is currently in self-isolation with mild coronavirus symptoms, Al-Quds quoted Palestinian sources as saying. He recently traveled to Beirut to meet with the leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Ziyad al-Nakhalah.

However, Mashaal did not meet with Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah while in Lebanon. Nasrallah turned down a request for a meeting by Mashaal or any other member of the Hamas delegation due to friction between the Assad regime and the terrorist group. Iranian officials reportedly sent a message to Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh to cancel his visit to Lebanon altogether. 

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The Hamas terrorist organization chose former leader Khaled Mashaal to serve as its diaspora director, official Hamas media announced on Monday.

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The decision means Mashaal will not run against Ismail Haniyeh for the position of political bureau chief, which Haniyeh currently holds.

Mashaal, who currently lives in Qatar, was elected in an internal election process on Monday afternoon. He will replace Maher Salah, who was elected to the position twice, in 2012 and 2017, and has served nine years in the position.

Senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzuk was tabbed as Mashaal's deputy.

Mashaal's appointment comes on the heels of Hamas military leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar's re-election last month as the group's leader in the Gaza Strip.

Haniyeh, with no obvious challenger in sight, will likely now serve another four-year term as chief of the organization's political bureau.

The last Hamas internal vote was conducted in 2017. Haniyeh took the top spot at the time, replacing Mashaal, who had held the post since 1996. Haniyeh had previously served as Hamas' Gaza chief.

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The report on Israel's public broadcaster said that Mashaal's bid is supported by Qatar, where he resides, and Turkey, which offers top Hamas officials a safe haven in Istanbul.

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Both are seeking to increase their influence on the Islamist group, which is designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, Canada, the European Union, and Egypt.

Mashaal, who assumed Hamas' leadership in 1996, resigned in 2017, naming Ismail Haniyeh as his successor alongside Yahya Sinwar, who was named the group's military leader.

The move meant all of Hamas' leaders were based in the Gaza Strip, something Israeli defense officials said has made the group manage its conflicts with Israel more judicially, as unlike Mashaal – who was safe in Qatar – Haniyeh and Sinwar had much more to lose in case of a full-fledged war.

The official elections for Hamas' leadership are due to take place in the latter half of 2020 and are expected to conclude in early 2021. While since stepping down Mashaal has scaled down his public appearances, according to Channel 11 News, recent weeks have seen him resurface in the public eye in what is believed to be in preparation to announce his leadership bid.

The report said that Mashaal will most likely offer Haniyeh to be his deputy, casting doubt on the future of current deputy leader Saleh Arouri, who is based in Istanbul.

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