Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in a firefight by Israeli troops who appeared unaware they had captured one of the country's greatest enemies.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Sinwar, believed to be the mastermind of the October 7 attack just over a year ago, was “eliminated”. in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

Warning: This story contains images that may be disturbing to readers

The Israeli military also released drone footage that purportedly showed the Hamas leader's final moments before his assassination.

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In the video, 62-year-old Sinwar, who is responsible for the massacre of 1,200 people by Hamas militants in southern Israel last year, appears to be sitting injured in a ruined building.

He sits on a chair, his face covered with a scarf, and tries to throw an object at the drone.

How the battle developed

The more details emerge, the more it appears that the killing was the result of a chance encounter and not a targeted operation.

Israeli officials said the Hamas leader, who was hunted by intelligence agencies last year, was killed after emerging from the group's underground tunnel system as he tried to escape to a safer location.

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They said he was found by infantry soldiers searching an area in the Tal El Sultan area of ​​the southern Gaza Strip where they believed senior Hamas members were staying.

Troops saw three suspected militants moving between buildings and opened fire, leading to a shootout in which Sinwar fled into a destroyed building.

According to Israeli media reports, tank shells and a rocket were fired at the building.

Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said he had only been identified as a fighter at this point.

Troops entered the destroyed building and found him with a gun, body armor and 40,000 shekels ($10,731.63).

“He tried to escape and our forces eliminated him,” Rear Admiral Hagari said during a televised news conference.

His death was confirmed through DNA testing and other checks, such as dental records.

There was no immediate confirmation from Hamas about Sinwar's death – but sources within the group said they had seen evidence suggesting he was indeed killed.

According to four Israeli defense officials quoted by The New York TimesSinwar was killed by a unit of trainee squad commanders who unexpectedly met him during a routine operation in the area.

The Pentagon said U.S. forces were not involved in the killing.

Air Force spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said: “This was an Israeli operation. No U.S. forces were directly involved.”

He said the U.S. contributed intelligence related to “the hostage-taking and the tracking and location of Hamas leaders who were responsible for the hostage-taking. And that certainly contributes to the overall picture.”

No phones

In the last months of his life, Sinwar was believed stopped using telephones and other communication devices that could have allowed Israeli intelligence to track him down.

He was believed to be hiding in the vast network of tunnels that Hamas had dug under Gaza over the past two decades, but many were discovered by Israeli troops during the war.

The head of the Israeli military, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said Israel's hunt for Sinwar caused him to “behave like a fugitive, which resulted in him changing locations several times.”

Sinwar's death is a serious blow to Hamas.

The group's military commander, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on July 13.