No US role in Israel operation that killed Hamas leader, Pentagon says

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -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.

"This was an Israeli operation. There (were) no U.S. forces directly involved," said Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson.

"The United States has helped contribute information and intelligence as it relates to hostage recovery and the tracking and locating of Hamas leaders who have been responsible for holding hostages. And so certainly that contributes in general to the picture."

"But again, this was an Israeli operation. And I would refer you to them to talk about the details of how the operation went down," Ryder said.

His comment followed President Joe Biden's statement on Sinwar's death in which Biden said that after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, assault into Israel, he ordered U.S. special operations and intelligence personnel to aid Israel's hunt for Sinwar and other militant leaders.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Jonathan Landay; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Diane Craft)