The Israeli military on Thursday announced the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar by its forces in southern Gaza the previous day.

The Israeli military "confirms that after a year-long pursuit, yesterday (Wednesday), October 16, 2024, IDF (military) soldiers from the Southern Command eliminated Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the Hamas terrorist organisation, in an operation in the southern Gaza Strip," it said in a statement.

"The dozens of operations carried out by the IDF and the ISA (Shin Bet internal security agency) 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," the military added.

"IDF soldiers of the 828th Brigade (Bislach) operating in the area identified and eliminated three terrorists. The process of identifying the body confirms the elimination of Yahya Sinwar.

Israel accuses Sinwar, 61, of being the mastermind of the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing war, along with Hamas's military chief Mohammed Deif.

The Israeli military has said Deif was killed in a strike earlier this year, though the Palestinian group has not confirmed it.

In August, Sinwar took over as the leader of Hamas, following the death of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran on July 31. Israel has not commented on Haniyeh's death.

The Hamas attack last year resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people on Israeli soil, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures that include hostages killed in captivity.

Israel's retaliatory military offensive in Gaza has killed 42,438 people, a majority of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The UN acknowledges the figures reliability. (AFP)