CNN – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that a recent airstrike killed Mohammed Sinwar, Hamas’ elusive de facto leader in Gaza, the latest in a string of [targeted attacks] that have dealt a serious blow to the group’s top brass but are yet to break its grip on power.
Sinwar is the brother of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by the Israeli military in southern Gaza in October.
Netanyahu made the announcement during a speech in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, as the country marked 600 days since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023.
“We changed the face of the Middle East, we pushed the terrorists from our territories, we entered the Gaza Strip with force, we eliminated tens of thousands of terrorists, we eliminated (Mohammad) Deif, (Ismail) Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Sinwar,” he told lawmakers.
“Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Israel has destroyed Hamas’ military capacity and ability to govern. To that end, Israel has gone after Hamas’ top leaders in Gaza, and Sinwar is the latest target.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a massive strike on the European Hospital in Khan Younis on May 13 — a day after Hamas released Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander.
At the time, the IDF said it had struck “Hamas terrorists in a command-and-control center” in underground infrastructure at the hospital. A senior Israeli official and two sources familiar with the matter told CNN at the time that the strike targeted Mohammed Sinwar.
The strike killed several dozen people and wounded dozens more, the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said at the time.
Hamas had rejected claims about Sinwar’s death at the time, saying in a statement that only it is “authorized to confirm or deny what is published.”
Sinwar’s death would deprive Hamas of an able and determined commander.
