For Sinwar, architect of the Hamas cross-border raids that became the deadliest day in Israel's history, armed struggle remains the only way to force the creation of a Palestinian nation.

Israel’s intelligence machine has relied on tracking couriers in the past, notably to find and kill Hamas’ military chief Mohammed Deif, who was killed in an airstrike in Gaza in July. The US adopted a similar technique to find Osama bin Laden.

Hamas' leader in Lebanon is the latest Palestinian militant group commander killed there by Israeli airstrikes in recent days, including Hezbollah's longtime chief, Hassan Nasrallah.