The Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Security Agency said Thursday that they are “verifying the possibility” of the Hamas leader. Yahya Sinwar He was among three people killed in the Gaza Strip.
“At this time, the identity of the terrorists cannot be confirmed,” the IDF wrote in a message to X. “The terrorists were eliminated in the building, there were no signs of the presence of hostages in the area. The forces. those who are operating in the area continue to work with the necessary caution.”
Yahya Sinwar, head of the political wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, took part in a demonstration in support of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem in Gaza City on October 1, 2022.
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli authorities say they are currently working to confirm the identification through dental imaging and DNA testing.
“Once these processes are completed, we will be able to confirm the killing. More information will be released when it becomes available,” the IDF and Israel Police said in a statement.
The 62-year-old has been the leader of Hamas in Gaza since 2017, taking over the leadership of the group’s Political Bureau after the assassination. Ismail Haniyeh in Iran in July.
He is the leader of the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack against Israel, which killed 1,200 people, the worst terrorist attack in Israel’s history.
The Israelis informed US Defense Department officials, including Secretary Lloyd Austin, of Sinwar’s possible death, a US defense official said in a pool report. The department is awaiting updates from the Israelis, the official said.
In 1989, an Israeli court sentenced Sinwar to four life sentences for the murder of a suspected Palestinian informant and plotting to kill two Israeli soldiers.
Sinwar spent the next 22 years in prison before being one of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners released in 2011 in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been held hostage by Hamas.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Guy Davies contributed to this report.
