Hamas Gaza Chief Mohammad Sinwar’s death confirmed by Israel’s Netanyahu weeks after body found in tunnel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said the Israeli military had killed Mohammed Sinwar, the presumed leader of Hamas in Gaza and the brother of slain former chief Yahya Sinwar.

"We eliminated Mohammed Sinwar," Netanyahu told a parliament plenary session. Israeli media had reported that Sinwar was targeted in Israeli air strikes in southern Gaza earlier this month.

On May 18, it was reported that the body of Muhammad Sinwar had been found in a tunnel struck by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

“Based on all indications, Mohammed Sinwar was killed in a strike carried out on the grounds of the European Hospital in Khan Younis," said Israel Defence Minister Israel Katz while speaking during a closed-door meeting with parliamentarians.

He was involved in the 2006 abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, a high-profile operation that led to a prisoner exchange deal in 2011.

After the death of his brother Yahya Sinwar, who was regarded as the architect of the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023, Muhammad Sinwar took over the mantle of leadership.

Under Muhammad Sinwar's command, Hamas intensified recruitment efforts and escalated attacks against Israeli forces, despite severe Israeli military pressure.

The enclave, home to over two million Palestinians, has been subjected to an 11-week Israeli blockade on humanitarian aid, pushing its population to the brink of famine and exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis. Last week marked the initial resumption of aid deliveries, albeit in limited quantities, into the besieged territory.

Footage from the distribution point in Tel al-Sultan revealed large, unruly crowds overwhelming the facility, dismantling sections of fencing and scaling barriers intended to regulate the flow of people. The scenes underscored the acute desperation and mounting tensions faced by Gaza’s inhabitants amid the ongoing blockade.