Hamas Gaza Chief Mohammed Sinwar Killed in Airstrike, Says Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed the death of Mohammed Sinwar, the chief of Hamas in Gaza and a key figure in the group’s military leadership. The announcement comes weeks after a targeted Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza and marks a significant development in Israel’s ongoing campaign against Hamas.

Speaking in a plenary session of the Knesset on Wednesday, Netanyahu declared, “We eliminated Mohammed Sinwar,” referring to the brother of Yahya Sinwar, the former head of Hamas who was killed by Israeli forces in October last year. The Israeli military had previously targeted the area around the European Hospital in Khan Younis on May 13, claiming the destruction of Hamas’s underground infrastructure in the region.

While Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied Sinwar’s death, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in a closed-door briefing to lawmakers, cited multiple indicators confirming Sinwar’s demise. On May 18, reports emerged that his body had been discovered in a tunnel destroyed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the same area.

Who Was Mohammed Sinwar?

Born in 1975 in Gaza’s Khan Younis refugee camp, Mohammed Sinwar, also known among Israeli officials as “the shadow” due to his elusive nature, was a longstanding figure in Hamas’s military wing. He played a significant role in the 2006 kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, an operation that led to a landmark prisoner exchange deal in 2011.

Following the death of his elder brother Yahya Sinwar, who orchestrated the October 7, 2023 cross-border attacks that killed around 1,200 Israelis and led to the abduction of 251 others, Mohammed assumed a leadership role within the group. Under his command, Hamas intensified its recruitment and escalated its military activities despite relentless Israeli pressure.

Israel launched its full-scale military campaign in Gaza in response to the October 2023 attacks. According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, at least 54,084 Palestinians have been killed in the ongoing conflict, which has now stretched into its 600th day.

Humanitarian Chaos Amid Blockade

Meanwhile, a US-backed aid operation in Gaza descended into chaos on Tuesday as thousands of Palestinians crowded an aid distribution center managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in Tel al-Sultan. The site, designed to distribute food and supplies amid an 11-week Israeli blockade, was quickly overwhelmed.

Eyewitness footage revealed large crowds dismantling fences and climbing over barriers in a desperate attempt to secure basic provisions. The disorder prompted Israeli forces to fire warning shots into the air, while American contractors overseeing the operation were forced to temporarily withdraw.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire, with over two million residents facing acute shortages of food, medicine, and essential supplies. Last week’s limited resumption of aid deliveries marked the first break in the blockade in nearly three months, but aid agencies warn that the scale of assistance is still far from adequate.