Israeli military ‘checking possibility’ it killed Hamas leader

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Thursday said that it has been investigating the “possibility” it has killed the leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, during an operation in Gaza.

The group’s leader could be among three militants killed in a skirmish at an unspecified location, the IDF said. The military is now working together with the Israeli Security Agency (ISA) to conclusively establish whether this was actually the case. “At this stage, the identity of the terrorists cannot be confirmed,” the military stressed.

Sinwar has been the Hamas leader in Gaza since early 2017. In August he assumed full leadership of the group, becoming the head of its political bureau. The 62-year-old succeeded Ismail Haniyeh in the role after the latter was assassinated in Tehran.

Alongside Mohammed Deif, the chief of the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, Sinwar has been widely regarded as the mastermind behind the surprise October 7 attack on southern Israel in 2023 that triggered the ongoing conflict. Israel claims to have killed Deif in an airstrike earlier this year, although the group has denied his death.

Extremely graphic unverified images circulating online purport to show Sinwar’s body partially buried in debris. The body shows signs of multiple blast traumas, as well as an apparent gunshot wound to the head. According to media reports, the body was taken by the military to a laboratory for DNA testing to establish whether it is that of the Hamas leader.

Israel declared war on Hamas last October, after some 1,100 people were killed and roughly 250 kidnapped in the south of the country during a surprise attack launched by the militants. Heavy artillery and aerial bombardment, as well as Israeli ground operations, have caused widespread destruction in Gaza. Some 42,000 people, primarily women and children, have been killed in the Palestinian enclave, according to local health authorities.