The announcement of Sinwar's death follows Israel’s earlier assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a large-scale strike in Lebanon, where Israeli forces have been engaged in conflict since late September. In addition, several Iran-backed commanders have also been killed in Israeli operations over the past few months.

The IDF said its forces killed three terrorists in battle, but at this stage their identities have not been confirmed.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Thursday that Hamas head Yahya Sinwar, who oversaw the planning and execution of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks, was killed during an army operation in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.