Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar 'eliminated' in airstrike on tunnel under south Gaza hospital, IDF confirms
31 May 2025, 20:03 | Updated: 1 June 2025, 05:04
Senior Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a tunnel underneath the European Hospital in southern Gaza, the IDF and Shin Bet confirmed.
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The strike on May 13 also killed Muhammad Shabana, commander of the terror group’s Rafah Brigade, and Mahdi Quara, commander of the South Khan Younis Battalion, according to a joint statement.
“The terrorists were eliminated while operating in an underground command and control center, under the European Hospital in Khan Younis, deliberately endangering the civilian population in and around the hospital,” the IDF says.
The IDF says it carried out "extensive intelligence measures" that would "enable a precise strike that would mitigate civilian harm to the greatest extent possible.”
Sinwar was the younger brother of the group's former leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by the IDF last year, and the de facto leader in Gaza.
The IDF describes him as “among the most senior and long-serving members of Hamas’s military wing" and that he “played a significant role in planning and executing the brutal October 7 massacre, serving as chief of operations at the time."
Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel killed senior Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar.
Speaking to parliament, Netanyahu included Mohammed in a list of Hamas leaders killed in strikes.
The attack killed 28 Palestinians and wounded over 50 others, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.
It's understood that Yahya Sinwar masterminded the October 2023 attacks on Israel and took over as overall leader of the group after Israel killed his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.
After his death, the IDF has released footage of his final moments before he was killed.
The clip showed Sinwar throwing a stick at the drone filming him in a feeble attempt to defend himself.
The Hamas leader, who had his head covered with a scarf to hide his identity, was camouflaged in the rubble of a building as he sat in what appeared to once be a living room.
Yahya Sinwar’s wife seen holding Birkin bag in IDF footage
