The Israeli military is checking the potential death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the Gaza Strip, it said in a statement on Thursday.

The statement said three Palestinians were killed during a joint operation by the army and the Shin Bet security service.

We are "checking the possibility that" one of them was Yahya Sinwar, it added, without providing further details, noting that the identities of those killed cannot be identified.

It said there were no signs that Israeli hostages had been present in the building where the three fighters were killed.

There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

Israel's Army Radio said the incident had occurred during a targeted ground operation in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip during which Israeli troops killed three fighters and took their bodies.

It said visual evidence suggested it was likely that one of the men was Sinwar and DNA tests were being conducted. Israel has samples of Sinwar's DNA from his period in an Israeli jail.

Sinwar has been at the top of Israel's wanted list since Oct. 7. But he has so far eluded detection, possibly hiding in the warren of tunnels Hamas has built under Gaza over the past two decades.

Previously leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, he was named as its overall leader following the assassination of former political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July.

Israel also killed Hasan Nasrallah, leader of the Hezbollah movement, in Beirut last month as well as much of the top leadership of the group's military wing.