Body of Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar identified in tunnel beneath Gaza hospital, Israel says
8 June 2025, 22:10 | Updated: 8 June 2025, 22:13
The Israeli military has said it has found and identified the Hamas leader's body in a tunnel beneath a hospital in Khan Younis.
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The body of the Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar was found beneath the European hospital in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sunday.
The IDF shared a photo of documentation that appears to prove Sinwar's identity, including his driving license and Israeli and Hamas identity documents.
The IDF said it had verified Sinwar's identity through DNA checks.
Hamas has not publicly confirmed Sinwar's death.
The Israeli military also shared video footage of the tunnel beneath the hospital. The video shows a long narrow tunnel and rooms containing weaponry and other items including kitchenware and bedding.
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IDF spokesperson Brig Gen Effie Defrin said that Sinwar's body was found in one of the rooms.
"This is another example of the cynical use by Hamas, using civilians as human shields, using civilian infrastructure, hospitals, again and again," he said.
The body of Mohammad Sabaneh, the commander of Hamas's Rafah Brigade, was also found in the tunnel, the IDF said.
It added that "several items belonging to Sinwar and Sabaneh were located, along with additional intelligence findings that were transferred for further investigation".
Sinwar was targeted in an airstrike on the European Hospital in Khan Younis on May 13.
At the time of the attack, the IDF said it had struck “Hamas terrorists in a command-and-control center” in underground infrastructure at the hospital.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed over two weeks later that Mohammed Sinwar was among those killed in the airstrike.
Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using hospitals to conceal weapons and command centres, which the group denies.
The IDF has repeatedly launched attacks on hospitals in Gaza, or ordered their sudden evacuation, leaving the territory's health system on the brink of collapse.
The attacks have attracted international concern as many medical facilities in Gaza are no longer in service and the lives of patients and medical staff have been endangered.
The last hospital in North Gaza was put out of service last week after the IDF ordered its evacuation.
Hospital staff in Gaza have repeatedly denied that Hamas is using their facilities as a base.
The airstrike on the European hospital in Khan Younis that allegedly killed Sinwar also killed 28 Palestinians and injured more than 50 others, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Mohammed Sinwar succeeded his brother Yahya Sinwar as leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip following the killing of Yahya Sinwar by the IDF in October 2024.
The war in Gaza broke out on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing some 1,200 people—mostly civilians—and abducting 251 hostages.
Since then, Israel has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians in its military campaign, primarily women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
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