The newly appointed leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, has been killed in a gun battle in Gaza, less than two months after assuming leadership of the Palestinian group.
Sixty-year-old Mr Sinwar was one of the masterminds of the 7 October attack that left several persons dead in Israel.
The Israeli military confirmed on Thursday that Mr Sinwar, who assumed leadership of Hamas in August following the assassination of former leader Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in a firefight between Israeli soldiers and Hamas forces.
His body was retrieved after clashes in Gaza on Wednesday, with Israeli police stating that they identified him using dental records and fingerprints.
Hamas has not officially confirmed Mr Sinwar’s death. His leadership had been short-lived, amid Haniyeh’s assassination in Iran on 31 July.
Mr Sinwar’s death marked another episode in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Prior to his appointment, Mr Sinwar was a prominent figure within Hamas, having joined the organisation in the 1980s and serving as its leader in Gaza since 2017.
