International Desk: Yahya Sinwar, head of the Palestinian independence armed group Hamas, was killed in an attack by Israeli forces. Sinwar has been the political chief of Gaza since 2017. According to Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom, he was the mastermind and main planner of the October 7 attack.

Tas News confirmed this information on Thursday (October 17) citing sources from the Lebanese LBCI news website.

However, Hamas has so far not publicly commented on Israel's claim that Yahya Sinwar was killed in the attack. Meanwhile, citing sources, the Lebanese LBCI news website said that the new head of Hamas is Khaled Mashal.

Sources have confirmed that Khaled Mashal has taken over as acting head of Hamas. He will now contact the main parties involved in the negotiations on the release of the Israeli hostages.

Sources say that the death of Yahya Sinwar has already been informed by the leadership of Hamas to officials in Türkiye, Qatar and Egypt. It has also been emphasized that negotiations over prisoner exchange and an end to the war will become increasingly difficult after Sinwar's death.