Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar – the architect of the October 7 raid on Israel, in which 1,200 people were massacred – has reportedly been killed in Gaza.
The Israeli military said it was ‘checking the possibility’ that it has killed Sinwar inan attack on ‘three militants’ today.
‘At this stage, their identities cannot be confirmed,’ it said in a statement on X.
A number of Israeli news outlets published images showing a bloodied body that they claim is him.
Metro has decided not to publish the pictures among the rubble because of how graphic they are.
Sinwar has led Hamas within Gaza since 2017, having joined its ranks in the early 1980s.
The 62-year-old was chosen as the group’s top leader after the assassination of Ismael Haniyeh in July in an Israeli strike in the Iranian capital Tehran.
Operating from the shadows of a network of tunnels under Gaza, Sinwar had so far survived Israeli airstrikes.
For months, he was Israel’s most wanted man and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously called him a ‘dead man walking’.
Israel’s Army Radio said the attack took place in the southern city of Rafah during which 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. Hamas has not yet commented on the claims.
If confirmed, his death would represent a major boost to the Israeli military after a string of high-profile assassinations of prominent leaders of its enemies in recent months.
It will also dial up tensions in the Middle East where fears of a wider conflict have grown as Israel continues to bomb Lebanon – and is preparing an attack on Iran.
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