In a social media post on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has alerted that three individuals were killed during IDF operations in Gaza, and the IDF and ISA (Israel Security Agency) “are checking the possibility that one of the terrorists was Yahya Sinwar”.
Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar has been chairman of the Hamas political bureau since August 2024 and the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip since February 2017, succeeding Ismail Haniyeh in both roles.
As a disclaimer, the IDF has added that “at this stage, the identity of the terrorists cannot be confirmed”, and that the building in which the individuals were killed showed no signs of the presence of hostages.
Earlier on Thursday, the IDF claimed that it had killed Hussein Muhammad Awada, a Hezbollah battalion commander in Lebanon.
Awada, who allegedly oversaw projectile attacks from villages near the Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil into Israeli territory, was killed by Israeli air and artillery forces, the IDF said in a statement, without specifying the time or location of the attack, according to Xinhua news agency. Hezbollah has yet to comment on the claim.
According to the IDF, since Wednesday morning, the Israeli army has killed more than 45 Hezbollah fighters and destroyed over 150 targets belonging to the primarily Lebanon-based military group, including a weapons storage facility, launchers, and military infrastructure.
Since 23 September, the Israeli army has been conducting intensive airstrikes on Lebanon, marking a dangerous escalation with Hezbollah.
