Israeli troops had for more than a year hunted the leader of Hamas, who disappeared in Gaza soon after masterminding the 7 October attacks.
Yahya Sinwar, 61, was said to have spent much of his time hiding in the tunnels under the Strip, along with a cadre of bodyguards and a “human shield” of hostages seized from Israel.
But ultimately, it appears he met his end in a chance encounter with an Israeli patrol in southern Gaza. His guard detail was small. No hostages were found.
Details are still emerging, but here’s what we know so far about Sinwar’s killing.
The Israel Defense Forces says a unit from its 828th Bislamach Brigade was patrolling Tal al-Sultan, an area of Rafah, on Wednesday.
Three fighters were identified and engaged by the Israeli troops – and all were eliminated.
At that stage nothing seemed particularly remarkable about the firefight and the soldiers did not return to the scene until Thursday morning.
It was then, as the dead were inspected, that one of the bodies was found to bear a striking resemblance to the leader of Hamas.
The corpse however remained at the site due to suspected booby traps and instead, part of a finger was removed and sent to Israel for testing.
His body was finally extracted and brought to Israel later that day as the area was made safe.
Daniel Hagari, the IDF’s spokesman, said his forces “didn’t know he was there but we continued to operate”.
He said his troops had identified the three men running from house to house and engaged them before they split up.
The man since identified as Sinwar “ran alone into one of the buildings” and was killed after being located with a drone.
None of the hostages Sinwar was believed to be using as a human shield were present and his small retinue suggests either he was trying to move unnoticed or had lost many of those protecting him.
Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defence minister, said: “Sinwar died while beaten, persecuted and on the run – he didn’t die as a commander, but as someone who only cared for himself. This is a clear message to all of our enemies.”
Drone footage released by the Israeli military late on Thursday was said to show Sinwar’s final moments before he was killed.
The video appears to be shot from a drone flying through the open window of a mostly destroyed building.
It approaches a man, with his head covered, sitting in an armchair on the first floor of a house that is littered with debris.
The man, who seems to be injured, then throws what appears to be a stick at the drone and the video ends.
Israel first announced it was “investigating the possibility” that Sinwar had been killed in Gaza on Thursday afternoon local time.
Not long after that, Israeli sources told the BBC leaders were “increasingly confident” they had killed him. However, they said all necessary tests must be carried out before the death could be confirmed.
Those tests did not take long. By Thursday evening, Israel had announced they had been completed and that Sinwar was confirmed “eliminated”.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said “evil” had been “dealt a blow”, but warned the Israeli war in Gaza had not been completed.
