Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu officially confirmed on Wednesday that Mohammed Sinwar, a senior Hamas commander, was killed in an Israeli airstrike conducted on May 13, 2025. This statement marked the first formal acknowledgment following earlier indications by Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz in mid-May.
While Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) initially expressed doubts regarding foreign media claims that Sinwar's body was recovered along with about a dozen of his aides, including Mohammed Shabanah, the Rafah brigade chief and Sinwar's probable successor, new intelligence suggests a different narrative. Sources cited by The Jerusalem Post revealed that Sinwar and Shabanah were together at the time of the airstrike, making their deaths highly likely.
The targeted operation involved intense bombardment of a Hamas tunnel complex located beneath a hospital in Gaza, where Sinwar was reportedly hiding. Mohammed Sinwar assumed leadership of Hamas's Gaza faction following the death of his brother, Yahya Sinwar, who orchestrated the October 7 attacks and was killed by Israeli forces in Rafah.
Since taking command, Mohammed Sinwar has been responsible for managing the situation surrounding 58 Israeli hostages, with approximately 21 believed to still be alive.
