IDF says may have eliminated Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar in Gaza

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.

Meanwhile, warplanes of the US-UK coalition launched 15 airstrikes on the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and the northern city of Saada early on Thursday, local media reported. The strikes targeted three sites in Sanaa, in the areas of Al-Jiraf, Hafa and Jarban, as well as two other sites in Saada, in the areas of Kahlan and al-Abla, Xinhua reported quoting Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

There were no reports of casualties as the Houthi group, which controls much of northern Yemen, rarely discloses its casualties. Residents of Sanaa told Xinhua that the strikes hit three Houthi military sites, one in the Al-Jiraf area in the northern part of Sanaa, and Hafa and Jarban in the southern part of the capital.

The strikes occurred at dawn, causing explosions that were heard across the capital. Nasreddin Amer, the Houthis' deputy information secretary, was quoted by Houthi television as saying "the United States will pay the price for its aggression."

Meanwhile, the US Central Command said in a statement that it used "Air Force B-2 Spirit long-range stealth bombers" in the operation, targeting underground Houthi weapons storage facilities. It said the Houthi storage "contained various advanced conventional weapons used to target US and international military and civilian vessels navigating international waters throughout the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden".

The Houthi group has been launching rocket attacks and drones against Israeli cities and "Israeli-linked" ships since last November to show solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war. In response, the US-UK navy coalition stationed in the waters has been conducting sporadic strikes on Houthi targets.