Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that they had killed the leader Hamas Yahya Sinwar during the attack in Gaza, writes CNN.
Dental records and other biometric data helped Israel identify Sinwar's body, an unnamed U.S. official familiar with the matter said.
The dental certificate could be done relatively quickly, the official said.
The Israeli government has Sinwar's biometrics because he spent more than two decades in an Israeli prison for murder.
Sinwar was identified thanks to a dental record, which the Israeli forensic laboratory had, since the Hamas leader was imprisoned in Israel for 22 years.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog praised the Israeli military, Shin Bet security service and intelligence agencies for killing Sinwar.
Herzog on Platform X labeled Sinwar as the main organizer of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 last year and "responsible for heinous acts of terrorism against Israeli civilians" for years.
"His evil efforts are dedicated to terror, bloodshed and destabilization of the Middle East," the Israeli president said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Sinwar was "the mastermind behind the massacre and atrocities" on October 7.
"This is a significant military and moral achievement for Israel and a victory for the entire free world against the axis of evil of radical Islam, led by Iran," Katz said, according to the BBC.
He pointed out that the killing of Sinwar opens the possibility for the immediate release of the hostages and paves the way for a change that will lead to a new reality in Gaza - without Hamas and without Iranian control.
Sinwar has led Hamas operations in Gaza since 2017, and is believed to be a key architect of the October 7, 2023, attack in which Hamas killed 1200 people in Israel.
Israel previously eliminated Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July and then killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut in September.
"We will get to every terrorist — and eliminate him," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said, according to Politico.
Sinwar was in a building in Rafah and was found by accident, one of the Israeli officials said, and the building was the site of a routine IDF operation on Thursday.
IDF soldiers clashed with Hamas fighters near the building, and Sinwar was found inside with several other Hamas commanders. It is unclear whether Sinwar lived in the building or was passing through from another location inside Gaza.
