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Middle East Crisis Live: Israeli Army Says It Is Investigating Possibility of Killing Hamas Chief Yahya Sinwar | Israel-Gaza war

Middle East Crisis Live: Israeli Army Says It Is Investigating Possibility of Killing Hamas Chief Yahya Sinwar | Israel-Gaza war

The Israeli military says it is “verifying” whether Yahya Sinwar was killed in Gaza

AP has released more details on reports Hamas' supreme leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in a military operation in Gaza (see 13.53 BST).

The military said in a statement on Thursday that three militants had been killed in operations in Gaza, without elaborating. It said the identity of the three had not yet been confirmed, but that it was “examining the possibility” that one of the three was Sinwar.

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

There was no immediate comment from Hamas.
Sinwar was one of the main architects of Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. He was elected as the group's top leader following the killing of Ismael Haniyeh in July in an apparent Israeli attack in the Iranian capital Tehran.

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Important events

A German Warship deployed as part of the U.N's peacekeeping force in Lebanon The Bundeswehr said on Thursday that it shot down a drone off the Lebanese coast, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“An unidentifiable unmanned aerial vehicle was discovered in the vicinity” of the corvette “Ludwigshafen am Rhein” and “crashed in a controlled manner,” said an army spokesman.

According to the AFP, the spokesman said he could not provide further details for “operational security reasons”.

Andrea TenentiA Unifil A spokesman confirmed that earlier on Thursday “an unmanned aerial vehicle of unknown origin approached one of Unifil's maritime task force ships off the southern Lebanese coast.”

“In accordance with procedure, electronic countermeasures were deployed and the UAV fell and exploded on its own,” Tenenti said, adding that Unifil is “investigating the matter.”

The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon has repeatedly come under fire in Lebanon Israeli Hezbollah War in the last days.

Five peacekeepers were injured in a series of incidents last week. In the latest incident, UN troops accused Israeli troops of breaking through a gate and entering one of their positions, AFP reports.

The Israeli military said it was not targeting UN peacekeepers, but the incidents sparked a wave of international criticism.

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Bethan McKernan

Bethan McKernan

Yahya SinwarThe Hamas The Israeli military says the leader who planned the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza may have been killed.

“Three terrorists were eliminated during Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operations in the Gaza Strip. The IDF is investigating the possibility that one of the terrorists was Yahya Sinwar. “At this point, the identity of the terrorists cannot be confirmed,” it said in a statement released on Thursday afternoon local time.

“In the building where the terrorists were eliminated, there were no signs of the presence of hostages in the area. The forces operating in the region continue to act with due caution.”

Several security officials anonymously told Israeli media that the bodies had been taken to Israel for DNA testing and that the IDF believed it was “highly likely” that one of those killed was Sinwar.

Israel's Kan Radio reported that the Hamas leader was killed “accidentally” and not through intelligence gathering. The station also said the bodies were found with lots of cash and fake IDs.

It was long believed that Sinwar had surrounded himself with Israeli hostages to reduce the chances of being killed. However, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement that no hostages were believed to have been present.

Read the full report here:

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From Reuters:

Israeli Security Cabinet officials have been informed that Sinwar is most likely dead, two officials say.

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AFP has just reported that a Israel A security official said the army was conducting DNA tests on one of the bodies to confirm whether this was the case Yahya Sinwar.

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Israel Kan Radio reports about it Yahya Sinwar was killed “accidentally” and there was no prior information.

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The Israeli military says it is “verifying” whether Yahya Sinwar was killed in Gaza

AP has released more details on reports Hamas' supreme leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in a military operation in Gaza (see 13.53 BST).

The military said in a statement on Thursday that three militants had been killed in operations in Gaza, without elaborating. It said the identity of the three had not yet been confirmed, but that it was “examining the possibility” that one of the three was Sinwar.

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

There was no immediate comment from Hamas.
Sinwar was one of the main architects of Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. He was elected as the group's top leader following the killing of Ismael Haniyeh in July in an apparent Israeli attack in the Iranian capital Tehran.

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There was an update to our earlier post (see 13.33 BST).

Threats to downtown buildings Beirutincluding in the offices of Al-Jazeera TV in Qatar and the Norwegian Embassyare considered fake, a Lebanese security source and a diplomatic source told Reuters

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In addition to the news that the Israeli The military said there was a possibility it had “eliminated” that Hamas Leader, Yahya SinwarReuters reports that the military also stated that “at this time the identity cannot be confirmed.”

Background: Sinwar is a main target for Israel. My colleague, Julian Borgerhas previously written about Sinwar and Israel's hunt for the Hamas leader:

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Israeli forces may have killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar

According to a recent news line from Reuters, an Israeli A military spokesman said the possibility existed Hamas Leader, Yahya Sinwarwas “eliminated”. Reuters adds that the Israeli military is checking.

We will update with more information as it comes in.

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Hamas Use denied Abu Hussein School In Jabalia for combat purposes, thereafter Israeli The military said it targeted Hamas militants Islamic Jihad groups, Reuters reports.

The Israeli military previously said dozens of militants were operating from the school, which was used as a shelter for displaced people (see 1:09 p.m. BST).

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Al Jazeera employees evacuate offices in Beirut after Israeli warnings

William Christou

AlJazeera Employees evacuated their offices in the city center Beirut on Thursday afternoon after receiving messages telling them to leave the building, similar to previous evacuation warnings from Israel that preceded the bombings, the network reported. Two messages, one of them is this Norwegian Embassywhich is also housed in the same building, was also evacuated.

Al Jazeera's office is located in the heart of downtown Beirut, one kilometer from the landmark Blue Mosque And Martyrs' Square where displaced people live.

people inside Lebanon They have received messages and calls urging them to evacuate ahead of Israeli bombings over the past month since Israel began doing so Operation Northern Arrows on September 23rd. Some of these messages turned out to be false alarms, leading to mass panic and the arrest of perpetrators by Lebanese security forces.

William Christou is a Beirut-based journalist who writes about Lebanon for the Guardian.

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Hezbollah Legislature Hassan Fadlallah said on Thursday that the Israeli The army did not have complete control of any south Lebanon Village, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“So far, the enemy has not been able to gain full control of a village,” Fadlallah said at a news conference in the Lebanese parliament, adding that Israel is “applying a scorched earth policy through the systematic destruction of villages… and is trying to to establish a buffer zone “without people, buildings, fields or trees”.

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345,000 Palestinians are suffering from “catastrophic” hunger this winter, a United Nations-backed assessment says

About 345,000 Palestinians are facing a 'catastrophic' famine this winter after aid supplies dwindle, a U.N.-supported assessment said on Thursday, warning of the ongoing threat of famine across the Palestinian territory.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports that this is an increase from the 133,000 people currently classified as “catastrophically food insecure,” according to a classification drawn up by UN agencies and NGOs.

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Further information on the Israeli attack in Jabalia will follow.

Reuters reports that the Israeli military said dozens of militants were on site and carried out a targeted attack on a meeting point Hamas and the Islamic Jihad Group within the premises.

There has been no comment from Hamas so far.

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Yemen's Houthi rebels vow retaliation after US attacks

Yemen's Houthi rebels have vowed to take revenge afterwards United States carried out several attacks with B-2 heavy bombers on weapons depots in areas controlled by the Iranian-backed group.

A statement from the Houthis' Iran-backed Politburo said:

We confirm that American aggression will not go without response.

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“At least 19 dead and dozens injured” in Israeli attack in Jabalia – Gaza Strip Health Ministry

At least 19 Palestinians, including children, were killed on Thursday after an Israeli strike hit a school housing displaced people in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, a Gaza Health Ministry official told Reuters.

Dozens were also injured in the strike, official Medhat Abbas said, adding: “There is no water to put out the fire. There's nothing there.”

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