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Israel's foreign minister said on Thursday that Israeli forces had killed top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza, in what would be a major blow to the Iran-aligned group and a possible boon to flagging peace efforts.
"Mass murderer Yahya Sinwar, who was responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7, was killed today by IDF soldiers," Israel Katz said in a statement.
The Israeli military earlier said on X that they were seeking to verify whether one of three people it had killed was Sinwar.
"During IDF operations in Gaza, 3 terrorists were eliminated. The IDF and ISA are checking the possibility that one of the terrorists was Yahya Sinwar," the military said, referring to itself and the intelligence service.
"At this stage, the identity of the terrorists cannot be confirmed."
Unverified graphic footage circulating on social media appeared to show a corpse roughly resembling Sinwar in a military tactical vest and headscarf with distinctive crooked teeth.
Sinwar was the architect of the October 7, 2023 attacks which killed around 1,100 Israelis - most of them civilians - and ensnared scores of hostages in a shock to Israeli security which has brought the region close to all-out war.
Members of Israel's security cabinet have been informed that Sinwar is very likely dead, Reuters reported citing two officials with knowledge of the matter, adding that Hamas sources say indications suggest Sinwar was killed.
Sinwar succeeded Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in a likely Israeli assassination on his guesthouse in Tehran in August, as the head of the group's political bureau and made him its highest ranking leader and de facto chief.
Iran's Supreme Leader this month blessed that attack as a justified act of resistance and emphasized the Islamic Republic's support for armed allies in the region like Hamas which have been confronting Israel for over a year.
US officials cited by domestic media outlets have pointed to hardline positions adopted by Sinwar as well as by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as obstacles to a negotiated ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza.
More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel's offensive so far according to Gaza's health authorities, including 28 people in an Israeli strike on a shelter in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday.
Iran connection
Sinwar played a pivotal role in building Hamas’s strategic alliance with Iran, according to Israeli and Western military analysts and officials.
The bloody crackdown by Iran's ally Syria starting in 2011 on militias and dissidents linked to the Muslim Brotherhood - the ideological movement from which Hamas hails - dented relation with Tehran which Sinwar helped repair.
Sinwar traveled to Iran on notable visit in 2012 in which he was photographed as part of a Hamas delegation in an audience with Khamenei and after which Hamas-Iran ties improved.
In footage released following Haniyeh's assassination, Khamenei's office depicted the slain leader introducing Sinwar as a veteran of Israel's prisons.
Iran’s assistance, frequently cited by Sinwar, was instrumental in building Hamas’s military strength.
In a speech the same year, Sinwar confirmed that Qassem Soleimani, the late senior Iranian paramilitary general, had reached out to Hamas's leadership and offered all means at Iran's disposal to aid their cause.
The October 7 attack was a culmination of Hamas’ evolution under Sinwar’s guidance from an organization viewed by Israel as preoccupied with administering Gaza to a fearsome attacker dedicated to altering the security balance in the region.
Those enhanced capabilities enabled by its alliance with Iran were on display as Hamas fighters launched a complex attack by land, air and sea while overrunning military installations with the aid of drones.
