Hamas, whose top leaders have been killed by Israel, is holding elections to elect a new interim leader, a Palestinian official close to the group told the BBC.

The vote is being held among Hamas members in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and elsewhere.

The results of the vote, which come as the US and other world powers are negotiating a post-war reconstruction of Gaza and the militant groups in the area, could be a sign of the direction the group intends to take.

Hamas is holding the elections after Israel killed most of its top leaders in the Gaza war.

Sources close to the matter told the BBC that most people in Gaza have voted. It is not yet clear whether the process has reached the same stage elsewhere.

The new leader, who is elected in this process, will serve a one-year term.

Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, has also been gaining support in the West Bank in recent years. However, its movement there is severely restricted by the presence of Israeli forces and Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank.

After two years of war, a US-brokered ceasefire came into effect last October, and negotiations are continuing on the next phase of the agreement.