Israel says it's 'checking possibility' it killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza

  Israel says it's "checking the possibility" that it killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza, but adds it is not confirmed

• Sinwar is believed to be a key figure in the planning and execution of the 7 October attacks on Israel last year

• Separately, local authorities say an Israeli air strike on a school-turned-shelter killed 22 people in Jabalia in northern Gaza 

  
  
  

• Israel says the site was being used as an operational meeting point for Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives - something Hamas denies

• Earlier, the US said it was monitoring Israel's actions in northern Gaza to ensure it's not pursuing "a policy of starvation". Israeli security cabinet told Sinwar is 'very likely dead', Reuters reports

• 1. published at 15:14

     Members of Israel's security cabinet have been informed that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is very likely dead, two officials with knowledge of the matter have told Reuters.

     Anonymous officials have also reportedly told Israel's Channel 12 that Sinwar has been "eliminated". DNA tests underway to determine whether body is Sinwar – reports. We're getting more detail now on Israeli efforts to confirm whether it has killed Yahya Sinwar. An Israeli security official also says DNA testing is underway to confirm whether the person killed was the Hamas leader, AFP reports.

  2. Israel will have the Sinwar's DNA and other biometric data on file from his time in prison there. Israeli army radio reports the incident occurred during a targeted ground operating in the southern Gazan city of Rafah during which Israeli troops killed three militants, according to Reuters.

     The military broadcast also says visual evidence suggests Sinwar was one of those killed, and that DNA tests are being conducted. THIS AND MORE UPDATES AT: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cy94zdd0nxlt