NEW YORK, Oct 19, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - An Israeli autopsy found that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by a gunshot to the head, the New York Times reported on Friday.

Dr Chen Kugel, who oversaw the autopsy, told the newspaper that Sinwar was first wounded in the arm by shrapnel, maybe from a missile or tank shell.

The Hamas leader then tied an electric cable around his arm in an apparent makeshift tourniquet, but Kugel -- the director of Israel's national forensic institute -- said "it wasn't strong enough, and his forearm was smashed."

Kugel said a gunshot killed Sinwar, but the Times noted that it is unclear who fired the shot, when they did so and what weapon was used.

According to the Israeli military, Sinwar met his end at the hands of a routine patrol on Wednesday.

It said a group of soldiers of the 828th Brigade (Bislach) was moving through the city of Rafah when it came across three Palestinian militants.

As the soldiers chased them, Sinwar split from the other two, the military said.

Israeli forces later fired with a tank at the building where two of the militants hid and the other where Sinwar took cover, it said.

Israeli media and military officials said there was no prior intelligence pointing to Sinwar's presence in the area.

Footage released by the Israeli military showed Sinwar covered in dust sitting in an armchair staring down a drone as the device entered the house devastated by strikes.

The grainy footage showed Sinwar alone with one hand severely injured and his head covered in a traditional scarf, throwing a stick at the approaching drone during his final moments.

The Israeli military conducted DNA testing along with dental examinations and other forensic enquiries that helped confirm Sinwar's identity.

He had not been seen in public since the war erupted with the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that he masterminded.

Sinwar's death is a major blow to Hamas, the Palestinian militant movement that has waged a war with Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip for more than a year now.