Hamas' Gaza chief Muhammad Sinwar has been eliminated, Israel's prime minister has confirmed.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday that Hamas' Gaza chief Muhammad Sinwar has been killed by Israel's army. There were reports of the Hamas chief being grievously injured in a massive airstrike by Israel on May 14. At the time the Israel Defence Forces or IDF was not in a position to confirm if the strike had killed the top militant.
Muhammad Sinwar was the brother of former Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, who was killed in a clash with the Israeli military in October 2024. Yahya Sinwar had masterminded the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack on Israel, which resulted in the war in Gaza. Yahya had been named the overall leader of Hamas after Israel killed his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh in Iran. Muhammad Sinwar was elevated to the post after Yahya was killed too.
Muhammad Sinwar, one of the last remaining top commanders of Hamas in Gaza, was at an underground facility which the militant group was using as a command centre when Israel's defence forces struck it in a precision drone strike on May 14.
The command centre was located under the European Hospital in Khan Younis. Israel's military had released a video of the aftermath of the precision strike, in which it showed a tunnel under the hospital, leading to the Hamas facility.
"We eliminated Muhammad Sinwar," Prime Minister Netanyahu said, speaking in Hebrew from the stage at the Knesset - Israel's parliament. He added that "We (Israel) had eliminated Ismail Haniyeh, Mohammed Deif, Yahya Sinwar, and now Muhammad Sinwar."
"In the last two days we have been in a dramatic turn towards a complete defeat of Hamas," Mr Netanyahu said, adding that Israel was also "taking control of food distribution", a reference to a new aid distribution system in Gaza managed by a US-backed group.
Throughout the war, Israel has methodically eliminated Hamas's leadership, killing Yahya Sinwar along with Muhammad Deif, the head of its military wing; Ismail Haniyeh, the group's political chief; Muhammad Sinwar its latest Gaza chief, and numerous others. Israel has said it aims to dismantle Hamas' governing and military capabilities and secure the release of hostages that are still held in Gaza.
on October 7, 2023 when Hamas-led terrorists stormed out of Gaza, rampaging through southern Israeli communities and killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians. More than 250 were captured and taken as hostages into Gaza.
Muhammad Sinwar was elevated to the top ranks of the Palestinian militant group last year after Israel killed his elder brother Yahya in combat during the ongoing war in Gaza. Hamas is yet to confirm Muhammad Sinwar's death.
