Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, has been killed, Israel has confirmed after it conducted biometric testing.

“Yahya Sinwar was eliminated after hiding for the past year behind the civilian population of Gaza, both above and below ground in Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip,” the IDF said in a statement. “The dozens of operations carried out by the IDF and the ISA over the last year, and in recent weeks in the area where he was eliminated, restricted Yahya Sinwar’s operational movement as he was pursued by the forces and led to his elimination.”

Eliminated: Yahya Sinwar.

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 17, 2024

Sinwar is considered to be the mastermind behind Hamas’s mass terrorist attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 that ignited the current conflicts across the region. Hamas murdered roughly 1,200 people, hundreds of whom were attending an outdoor music festival at the time of the attack, and they kidnapped roughly 250 other people.

Israeli officials had vowed to kill or capture Sinwar and other Hamas leaders who planned and carried out the attack.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates