It was around 5:30 in the morning on Thursday in Washington, DC, when senior US officials first got word — and photographs — from their Israeli counterparts: Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar might be dead.

Two Hamas officials told the BBC discussions to choose a successor for the group's leader Yahya Sinwar, whose killing was confirmed on Thursday, will begin very soon. The officials said that Khalil al-Hayya, Sinwar's deputy and the group's most senior official outside Gaza, is considered a strong candidate.

CAIRO, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The Palestinian militant group Hamas will likely replace Yahya Sinwar with a new political leader based outside Gaza while his brother - Mohammad Sinwar - is expected to assume a bigger role directing the war against Israel in the territory, experts say.