The Israeli military says Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar may have been killed in the latest strike

The Israeli military said on Thursday it was investigating whether it may have killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar following an operation in the Gaza Strip that it said targeted three terrorists.

“For now, it cannot be confirmed who the terrorists are,” the statement said.

It says that there are no signs that Israeli hostages were present in the building where the three terrorists were killed.

There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

Israel Army Radio says this incident happened during a targeted operation in the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where Israeli soldiers killed three terrorists and took their bodies.

It said physical evidence suggested that one of the men might have been Sinwar and that DNA tests were being carried out. Israel has DNA samples of Sinwar from his time in an Israeli prison.

Members of Israel’s security cabinet have been informed that Sinwar may be dead, two officials with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Thursday.

If confirmed, Sinwar’s death would represent a major boost for Israel’s military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after a series of high-profile assassinations of key adversaries in recent months.

The architect of October 7 attacks

Gunmen led by Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, including several Canadian citizens, while taking more than 250 hostages from Gaza, according to Israeli government figures. Israel believes about 100 hostages are yet to be returned, about a third of whom are believed to have died.

The Israeli operation in response killed 42,438 Palestinians and injured 99,246 others, according to the Gaza health ministry. The number from this ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians, but the Gaza Health Ministry said thousands of women and children were killed in airstrikes.

Yahya Sinwar, the main architect of the Oct. 7 attack. 2023, he has been at the top of Israel’s wanted list ever since. But so far he has not been seen, perhaps hiding in the tunnels Hamas has built under Gaza over the past two decades.

Formerly the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Sinwar was appointed as its general leader following the assassination of former political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran, in August.

Israel also killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, in Beirut last month, along with much of the group’s military leadership.

On Thursday, several Palestinians, including children, were killed in an Israeli strike on a shelter in the northern Gaza Strip, an official in the Gaza health ministry said, while Israel said the attack was aimed at civilians in the area.