Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has informed the families of hostages that Hamas Political Bureau Chairman Yahya Sinwar has died, Israel's Channel 12 reported Thursday without citing sources.

The information comes after several Israeli local media, as well as politicians, had hinted that the Hamas leader might be dead. However, his identity has not been confirmed yet.

The same Channel 12 said earlier that Sinwar had been in hiding with the six hostages that the IDF recovered on August 31 after their captors executed them. The network speculates that this is why Sinwar was no longer with any hostages when he was killed.