Netanyahu Confirms Hamas Commander Mohammed Sinwar Killed in Gaza Strike
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Wednesday that Mohammed Sinwar, the top commander of Hamas’ armed wing in Gaza, was killed in an Israeli airstrike earlier this month. Speaking before the Knesset, Netanyahu listed Mohammed Sinwar as one of the “tens of thousands of terrorists” killed by Israel since the war began, including Hamas leaders Mohammed Deif, Ismail Haniyeh, and Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Sinwar’s brother.
This marked the first official confirmation of Sinwar’s death following a May 13 Israeli strike on a Hamas command center beneath the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Younis, his hometown. Gaza’s Health Ministry reported 26 people were killed in that attack. Hamas has not confirmed Sinwar’s death, and there has been no independent verification.
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Sinwar, 49, became head of Hamas’ armed operations in Gaza after his brother Yahya—one of the masterminds of the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel—was killed in October 2024. A longtime fighter, Mohammed Sinwar had deep ties to the group’s military leadership and was reportedly among the few briefed in advance about the October assault. Hamas announced in 2014 that he had been killed, but it became clear years later that he was still alive.
He had also played a role in the 2006 crossborder raid that resulted in the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was held for five years and released in exchange for over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners—including his brother Yahya.
