Hamas leader killed in Gaza

Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, has been killed in Gaza

Sinwar has been leader of the group since 2017 and is believed to be the mastermind behind the 7 October attacks.

The Israeli military said Sinwar was killed alongside two others in Rafah, south Gaza.

There were no hostages at the site. It had previously been claimed that Sinwar would travel with hostages to use as protection.

His death was not immediately confirmed.

Sinwar was born in Gaza in 1962, he was first arrested by Israel aged 19.

In the 1980s he founded the Hamas security service al-Majd, which punished those suspected of collaborating with Israel or those suspected of morality offences. 1988 he was sentenced to four life terms in prison, but was later released in a prisoner swap.