Israel is checking the possibility that its forces killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in an exchange of fire with soldiers in the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF and the Shin Bet intelligence agency said in a statement on Thursday.
Why it matters: Sinwar was the mastermind of the October 7 terror attacks, which killed 1,200 people and set off Israel’s year-long war against Hamas in Gaza.
- Most of the people killed on Oct. 7 were civilians, including 43 Americans. 250 people were taken hostage, among them 12 Americans.
- In the year since the terror attacks, Israel has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians in its assault on Gaza — most of them civilians, according to local health officials.
The big picture: The Israeli government and the Biden administration have both said that killing Sinwar, who has also been head of Hamas’ Political Bureau since August, was a key objective.
Driving the news: The IDF and the Shin Bet said the incident took place on Wednesday night local time in southern Gaza strip.
- During a routine patrol by the IDF, the soldiers encountered three armed men. They exchanged fire and killed them.
- Israeli officials said the soldiers saw that the face of one of the bodies resembled Sinwar, but his identity could not be immediately confirmed.
- Israeli officials said the incident was coincidental and not based on intelligence.
State of play: The IDF and Shin Bet are still working on identifying the bodies and stressed there were no hostages involved in the incident.
- The Israeli officials said they are still waiting for DNA and fingerprint confirmation. Israel has Sinwar’s DNA and fingerprints from his time in prison.
@Axios
