Breaking news Israeli sources say man believed to be Sinwar killed during routine operation. CNN NEWS
Israeli forces encountered a man believed to be Yahya Sinwar during routine military operations in the Gaza Strip, two Israeli sources familiar with the matter said.
Israeli infantry troops encountered three militants near a building in Gaza and engaged them, the sources said.
After the battle ended, troops found a body resembling Sinwar’s and alerted senior commanders.
The Israeli military and intelligence services have since been working to identify whether the body is indeed Sinwar’s through DNA analysis, the sources said.
Earlier on Thursday, Israel’s military said it was investigating whether Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in military operations in the Gaza strip.
This is a breaking news story. We will bring you more details as we get them.
No sign of harm to hostages during Gaza operation that may have killed Sinwar, Netanyahu says
From CNN’s Eugenia Yosef
There were no signs of harm to any hostages in the Israeli operation in Gaza that may have killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said.
Netanyahu’s spokesperson said that the prime minister had instructed the Israeli military to tell families of hostages there were “no signs of harm to the hostages in the encounter in question.”
Breaking news Israeli sources say man believed to be Sinwar killed during routine operation. CNN NEWS
Images purported to be of Hamas chief’s body circulating on social media platforms
From CNN’s Pauline Lockwood
Pictures purported to show the dead body of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar are circulating widely on social media.
In them, a man strongly resembling Sinwar can be seen lying dead in the rubble of a destroyed building with serious injuries to the skull.
CNN’s photo desk has run the images through authenticator software, which shows no signs of image manipulation.
It is not possible to discern a location or timeframe of his death from the still photographs.
CNN has not yet been able to confirm the identity of the man seen in the photographs.
The Israel Defense Forces said on Thursday it was investigating whether the Hamas leader has been killed in Gaza.
