Israel kills Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during operation in southern Gaza

Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Israel Defense Forces killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during a ground operation Wednesday night in southern Gaza .

"Eliminated: Yahya Sinwar," the IDF said in a brief post on X made at about 1 p.m. EDT Thursday.

In a post made four hours earlier, the IDF said it eliminated three terrorists and were checking if one of them was Sinwar.

"In the building where the terrorists were eliminated, there were not signs of the presence of hostages in the area," the IDF said. "The forces that are operating in the area are continuing to operate with the required caution."

Later IDF forces identified Sinwar's body and reported confirmation of his death to media in a prepared statement.

The IDF "confirms that after a year-long pursuit, yesterday, Oct. 16, 2024, IDF soldiers from the Southern Command eliminated Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the Hamas terrorist organization, in an operation in the southern Gaza Strip," the statement read.

Hamas officials on Thursday said indications suggest Sinwar was killed by the IDF but have not confirmed or denied his death.

Hamas said it would make official statements only using its Telegram channel or website.

Two photos published Thursday by the Jerusalem Post show what appears to be Sinwar's dead body in rubble.

"In response to recent reports concerning the identification of Yahya Sinwar's assassination, the Israel Police , IDF and Shin Bet are actively working to establish a definitive identification," Israel Police said several hours after initial reports suggested Sinwar had been killed.

Dental images and DNA testing were used to identify Sinwar's body, and reports indicated the IDF cut off one of Sinwar's fingers to identify his body, the Jerusalem Post reported.

The White House released a statement soon after reports of Sinwar's death began to surface.

"With our intelligence help, the IDF relentlessly pursued Hamas's leaders, flushing them out of their hiding places and forcing them onto the run," President Joe Biden said Thursday in a prepared statement .

"There has rarely been a military campaign like this, with Hamas leaders living and moving through hundreds of miles of tunnels, organized in multiple stories underground, determined to protect themselves with no care for the civilians suffering above ground," Biden said.

"Today, however, proves once again that no terrorists anywhere in the world can escape justice, no matter how long it takes," Biden added.

The military operation that killed Sinwar and other Hamas members was unplanned and occurred after IDF forces determined terrorists were operating out of a building, which the IDF struck.

One of the other two Hamas members was the terrorist organization's Khan Yunis division commander and had been staying close to Sinwar since Hamas attacked Israel last year on Oct. 7.

The IDF said Sinwar was using six hostages to protect himself but the hostages were killed shortly before the IDF could free them during an operation.

Since then, Sinwar was not staying among hostages, the IDF said.

The IDF says Sinwar was the mastermind of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack that killed 1,200 and captured 250 hostages and triggered the war in Gaza.

The Hamas attack killed 43 U.S. citizens and captured 12 more who were taken hostage.

Since the Oct. 7 attack, Israel has killed 42,000 Hamas militants and Gazan civilians, Axios reported .

Sinwar replaced former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh , whom IDF forces killed in Iran in July.