This file photo taken on May 1, 2017 shows Yahya Sinwar (front) in Gaza city. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Security Agency (ISA) jointly confirmed Thursday that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in the Gaza Strip by Israeli soldiers on Wednesday.

"IDF soldiers from the Southern Command eliminated Yahya Sinwar ... in an operation in the southern Gaza Strip," the Israeli army said in a statement.

The IDF said that its soldiers killed three militants in the operation, and later, it turned out that one of them was Sinwar, who "was responsible for the murder and abduction of many Israelis."

According to the statement, Sinwar was killed after hiding over the past year behind the civilian population of Gaza, both above and below ground, in Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip.

"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 Sinwar's operational movement as he was pursued by the forces and led to his elimination," the statement added.

Shortly before the IDF statement, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz confirmed Sinwar's death in a message to foreign ministers of other countries, saying that "this is a great military and moral achievement for Israel."

According to the foreign minister, "the elimination of Sinwar creates a possibility for the immediate release of the Israeli abductees and to bring about a change that will lead to a new reality in Gaza, without Hamas nor Iranian control."

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