The Israeli military on Sunday announced that it had recovered the body of Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar in an underground tunnel beneath a hospital in Khan Yonuis. Another senior Hamas leader, Mohammed Shabana of the Rafah brigade was found dead at the scene along with several other militants who are all being identified, according to Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin.
The IDF made the announcement after it confirmed his identity through DNA checks. Hamas has not yet publicly confirmed the reports of Sinwar’s death but the IDF claims that he was killed in an airstrike conducted by the Israeli forces on May 13.
What did the IDF say?
The IDF released a statement on X stating, “Mohammad Sinwar was responsible for the deaths of countless civilians. He was eliminated in an IDF & ISA strike on May 13. His body was found beneath the European hospital in Khan Yunis—more proof of how Sinwar, and Hamas, hide behind their civilians and purposely embed themselves in civilian areas, such as hospitals. He died the way he lived—underground.”
The IDF gave reporters a tour of the tunnel and claimed it to be a major command and control room of Hamas. While releasing a video from the tunnel's entrance on X, IDF asserted that “weapons, cash and ammunition” was found in the tunnel. IDF spokesperson Defrin said that, “More proof that Hamas leaders weren’t just hiding underground, they were running their terror network from beneath a hospital.”
In a statement, the IDF said “Several items belonging to Sinwar and Sabaneh were located, along with additional intelligence findings that were transferred for further investigation,” BBC reported.
Mohammed Sinwar was the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, who was the leader of the Palestinian group. Mohammed succeeded the position from Yahya after he was killed in October 2024.
