Israeli forces killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar .
IDF troops identified a group of terrorists in a building in Rafah, southern Gaza , and fired at them, resulting in a firefight that killed three Hamas militants .
There were no signs of Israeli hostages in the building where the three militants were killed, the army said.
One of the three bodies, the one believed to be Sinwar, was taken away and DNA tests confirmed that it was the Hamas leader who, Channel 12 announced, "has been eliminated" .
The latest in a series of high-profile assassinations that have weakened Hamas in recent months. Sinwar, the main architect of the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 that triggered the war in Gaza, was at the top of the Tel Aviv forces' wanted list , but until today he had managed to evade capture.
Previously the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, he was appointed overall leader after the assassination of former political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in August. Hamas has not yet responded to any comments.
(Unioneonline/L)
