Israeli military checking reports that Hamas leader Sinwar is dead

The Israeli military said Thursday it was checking whether its forces had killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the alleged mastermind of the Oct. 7 attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and seized another 250 as hostages.

If confirmed, Sinwar’s killing would be the culmination of a yearlong hunt — involving Israeli and American spy agencies — for the Palestinian leader, who was believed to be hiding in Hamas’ underground network of tunnels in Gaza.

Sinwar became Hamas’ political head after the August assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which was widely attributed to Israel.

Israel’s military and the Shin Bet, Israel’s security agency, released a joint statement Thursday saying “three terrorists were eliminated” during operations in the Gaza Strip. The statement added that it was checking the identity of one of the militants.

The statement added “there were no signs of the presence of hostages in the area” and that the forces there “are continuing to operate with the required caution.”

The remains of the killed militant are reported to be undergoing DNA testing; samples will be compared to Sinwar’s DNA collected during his incarceration in an Israeli jail.

There was no immediate comment from Hamas.