ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Israeli military said on Thursday they have confirmed the death of Palestinian Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar after initially saying it was investigating his death in a recent Israeli operation in Gaza.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in a post on X that Sinwar was "eliminated." Before the IDF announced there were “checking the possibility" that one of the three "terrorists" killed in an earlier strike in Gaza was Sinwar.
Sinwar, a central figure in Hamas for decades, is believed to be one of the architects behind the Hamas’ attack on Israel last October, that has triggered a continued deadly war spilling into Lebanon.
Hamas has not commented on the issue.
Palestinian Hamas militants's large-scale incursion into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1,170 people, according to Israeli figures. Israel responded with a massive ongoing offensive in Gaza, killing at least 42,227 people, mostly civilians, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Sinwar was chosen as the Palestinian group’s new leader after Ismael Haniyeh was killed on July 31 in an attack in the Iranian capital of Tehran. Israel has denied involvement in the plot.
Iran, the arch-foe of Israel, launched nearly 200 missiles at Israel on October 1 in retaliation for the death of Haniyeh and other pro-Iran figures.
Updated at 9:40 pm
