Israeli military sources confirmed that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in a strike in Gaza following an initial DNA check on Thursday, NewsNation reports.

Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli Defense Forces announced an initial investigation to confirm the identities of 3 people who were killed.

"Initial report - During IDF operations in the Gaza Strip, three terrorists were eliminated. The IDF and ISA are checking the possibility that one of the terrorists was Yahya Sinwar. At this stage, the identity of the terrorists cannot be confirmed," the IDF said in a joint statement with Shin Bet, per the Jerusalem Post.

"In the building where the terrorists were eliminated, there were no signs of the presence of hostages in the area. The forces that are operating in the area are continuing to operate with the required caution," the statement added.

GLZ Radio military correspondent Doron Kodosh said, "Security officials for Gali IDF: assess with high probability that it is indeed Sinwar, all the signs indicate that."

Sinwar was named the new head of Hamas in August after Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran in July. Sinwar was the "mastermind" of the October 7 massacre in Israel that left over 1,200 people dead and over 200 more taken hostage. Sinwar was named as one of six people charged by the US Department of Justice with terrorism, murder conspiracy, and sanctions evasion counts in September.

This article has been updated to reflect a statement on Yahya Sinwar's death from the IDF.

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