Born near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Mr. Meshal became the leader of Hamas’s political office in 1996, directing the group from exile. Two years later, Israeli agents injected him with a slow-acting poison in Jordan, sending him into a coma before he was saved by an antidote provided by Israel as part of a diplomatic deal with Jordan.

Israel on Thursday confirmed it killed Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas’s political bureau, during an operation in the Gaza Strip. Sinwar was promoted to the role after his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh,

The U.S. military said on Thursday its forces had no role in the Israeli operation that killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, even if U.S. intelligence has contributed to Israel's understanding of Hamas leaders who took hostages last year.