Underlining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s May 28 announcement, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Saturday confirmed the elimination of Mohammad Sinwar, a senior Hamas leader, in an airstrike targeting a tunnel beneath the European Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis. The strike took place on May 13, where Sinwar was believed to be hiding.
In a joint statement with the Israeli security agency Shin Bet, the IDF also reported the deaths of Mohammad Shabana, commander of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade, and Mahdi Quara, commander of the South Khan Younis Battalion, in the same operation.
According to the Israeli military, Mohammad Shabana was among the planners and executors of the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and had overseen the captivity of several hostages in southern Gaza.
“We eliminated the Head of Hamas, again. He happens to be a Sinwar too,” the IDF posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday.
In a separate statement, the IDF said the terrorists were operating from an underground command and control center located beneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis, thereby “deliberately endangering the civilian population in and around the hospital.”
The Israeli military added that it had employed extensive intelligence measures and taken proper precautions to “enable a precise strike that would mitigate civilian harm to the greatest extent possible.”
Mohammad Sinwar was the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s top leader and mastermind of the October 7 attack, who was killed by Israel in a military operation in Gaza in October 2024. Following Yahya’s death, Mohammad Sinwar assumed a senior leadership role in southern Gaza, becoming a key figure in Hamas’s military wing and a major obstacle to ceasefire negotiations and hostage release efforts.
Previously, Israeli officials had said they had “probably” killed Mohammad Sinwar. Netanyahu’s recent remarks serve as the first direct confirmation of his death.
The elimination of Mohammad Sinwar is part of Israel’s broader campaign to dismantle Hamas’s leadership. In addition to the Sinwar brothers, Israeli forces have also killed military commander Mohammad Deif and political leader Ismail Haniyeh in separate targeted operations.