Israel is investigating whether Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar was killed after an operation in the Gaza Strip.
It comes as graphic images purporting to show the terrorist leader’s body have circulated online.
The grim images show what appears to be a Sinwar-like corpse lying on a pile of rubble, with a catastrophic head wound and wounds all over his body.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement: “During an activity by IDF fighters in the Gaza Strip, three terrorists were killed.”
‘The IDF and the Shin Bet are investigating the possibility that one of the terrorists is Yahya Sinwar. At this time the identity of the terrorists cannot be confirmed.’
Israel accuses Sinwar (pictured) of masterminding the unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war.
The statement continues: ‘In the building where the terrorists were murdered, no signs of the presence of kidnapped people in the area were found.
“The IDF and Shin Bet forces operating in the area continue to act with the necessary caution.”
Sinwar is considered the main architect of the October 7 attacks on Israel and is a prized target for the IDF.
He has remained elusive during the year-long war in Gaza, hiding in Hamas’ network of tunnels beneath the Strip.
The only apparent glimpse of him came in a video filmed just a couple of days after the bloody conflict broke out.
The black and white footage, discovered by IDF troops during a raid earlier this year, shows a man believed to be Sinwar walking through a tunnel along with his wife and three children, while carrying a large bag. .
‘In that bag there are about 25 kg of dynamite. There are at least 20 hostages around him,” according to Kobi Michael, Sinwar’s former Shin Bet interrogator.
“Some times we have had the opportunity to kill him, but if we do, he will kill all the hostages around him.”