Gaza/Tel Aviv, June 9: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Monday confirmed the recovery and identification of the body of senior Hamas commander Mohammad Sinwar, killed in a targeted air strike last month on Gaza’s European Hospital complex.
Sinwar, 49, younger brother of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, was eliminated on May 13 in a precision joint operation by the IDF and Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet. He had been hiding in an underground command center beneath the hospital in Khan Yunis, a southern Gaza city where both Sinwar brothers were born — and ultimately killed.
According to a joint statement released by the IDF and Shin Bet, Sinwar’s body was located during a sweep of the subterranean tunnel system. “Following a conclusive identification process, the body of Mohammad Sinwar was found along with that of Rafah Brigade Commander Mohammad Shabaneh,” the statement said.
The military also reported recovering additional terrorist bodies and intelligence materials, which are currently under analysis.
Sinwar, a key military figure within Hamas, played a crucial role in the group’s operations and was involved in the 2011 prisoner exchange that freed over 1,000 Palestinians in return for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit — including his brother Yahya. Israeli intelligence had long tracked Mohammad, nicknaming him “The Shadow” for his elusiveness.
His death follows that of his brother, Yahya Sinwar, who Israeli forces reportedly killed eight months ago during ground operations. Yahya Sinwar was widely regarded as the chief architect of the October 7 assault on southern Israel, in which Hamas-led militants killed 1,180 people and took 252 hostages. Of those, 55 remain in captivity, with 32 presumed dead.
Footage released by the IDF showed a body in a plastic bag being removed from a tunnel shaft beneath the hospital. The targeted strike has further intensified scrutiny over Hamas’s alleged use of civilian infrastructure for military purposes.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz praised the operation, calling it a “flawless execution” and warning remaining Hamas leaders. “Mohammad Sinwar has now joined his brother at the gates of hell,” Katz said in a statement, singling out Az al-Din al-Haddad in Gaza and Khalil al-Hayya abroad as future targets.
“Israel’s long arm will reach all those responsible for the October 7 massacre — near or far,” Katz added.
Also killed in the May 13 strike were senior Hamas figures Mohammad Shabaneh and Mahdi Kuwar. Their deaths represent a continued erosion of Hamas’s high-ranking leadership amid ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza, which have stretched into their ninth month following the October attacks.
The targeting of senior operatives comes as Israel intensifies efforts to dismantle Hamas’s command structure, despite international criticism over civilian casualties and humanitarian conditions in Gaza.
