Israel claims Sinwar killed, checking DNA for confirmation

Members of Israel's security cabinet have been informed that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is very likely dead, two officials with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.

Two of Israel's broadcasters, KAN and N12 News also cited Israeli officials as saying Sinwar was dead.

The reports follow an announcement on Thursday by the Israeli army that it was checking the possibility that it had killed the Hamas leader following an attack on the Gaza Strip that it said had targeted three militants.

"At this stage, the identity of the terrorists cannot be confirmed," it said in a statement.

It said there were no signs that Israeli hostages had been present in the building where the three militants were killed.

There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

If confirmed, the death of Sinwar would represent a major boost to the Israeli military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after a string of high-profile assassinations of prominent leaders of its enemies in recent months.

Israel's Army Radio said the incident had occurred during a targeted ground operation in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip during which Israeli troops killed three militants and took their bodies.

It said visual evidence suggested it was likely that one of the men was Sinwar and DNA tests were being conducted. Israel has samples of Sinwar's DNA from his period in an Israeli jail.

Israel's Ynet news website said that the preliminary results had confirmed that one of the deceased was likely Sinwar.

The internal security division of Hamas' armed wing issued a statement on Thursday urging against the spread of "misleading information and news about the assassination of leaders of the Palestinian resistance". The group has not confirmed Sinwar's demise.

A military correspondent for Israel's Channel 12 said that if Sinwar is confirmed dead, his remains will likely be cremated and scattered at sea.

Sinwar, the chief architect of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, has been at the top of Israel's wanted list ever since. But he has so far eluded detection, possibly hiding in the warren of tunnels Hamas has built under Gaza over the past two decades.

Previously leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, he was named as its overall leader following the assassination of former political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in August.

Israel also killed Hasan Nasrallah, leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, in Beirut last month as well as much of the top leadership of the group's military wing.

Hamas led an assault on Israel on 7 October, 2023 that saw some 1,200 people killed and more than 250 captives taken to Gaza.

Israel's latest war on Gaza has killed more than 42,000 people, turned much of Gaza into rubble and displaced most of its population.