Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar killed in Gaza operation? Israel Army 'checking' to verify

"At this stage, the identity of the terrorists cannot be confirmed," the Israeli army said in a statement.

It said there were no signs that Israeli hostages had been present in the building where the three militants were killed.

There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

If confirmed, the execution of Sinwar would represent a major boost to the Israeli military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after a string of high-profile assassinations of prominent Hamas leaders in recent months.

Israel's Army Radio said the incident had occurred during a targeted ground operation in Rafah along the southern Gaza Strip during which Israeli troops killed three militants and took their bodies.

According to the Israeli military, the visual evidence suggested it was likely that one of the terrorists killed was Sinwar and DNA tests were being conducted.

Israel has samples of Sinwar's DNA from his period in an Israeli jail.

Yahya Sinwar, the chief architect of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, has been at the top of Israel's wanted list ever since. But he has so far eluded detection, possibly hiding in the warren of tunnels Hamas has built under Gaza over the past two decades.

Previously leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, he was named as its overall leader following the assassination of former political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in August.

Last month, Israel also killed Hasan Nasrallah, leader of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement, in Beirut besides executing many of the group's top leadership.

Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages into Gaza. In a retaliatory action, Israel has killed more than 42,000 people, turned much of Gaza into rubble, and displaced most of its population.