Hamas confirms death of senior commander Mohammed Sinwar

Hamas on Sunday officially confirmed the death of Mohammed Sinwar, its presumed military leader in Gaza, more than three months after Israel claimed to have killed him in an airstrike.

The confirmation came through images released by the group on Saturday, which showed Sinwar alongside other senior figures described as “martyrs of the military council.”

Mohammed Sinwar, younger brother of Yahya Sinwar—Hamas’s top political leader in Gaza—was believed to have taken command of the Al-Qassam Brigades’ military council following the reported death of longtime commander Mohammed Deif.

Israel had announced in May that it had “eliminated” Mohammed Sinwar in a targeted strike on May 13. In June, the Israeli military said his body had been identified in a tunnel located beneath the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, in central Gaza.

Sinwar’s death marks another major blow to Hamas’s leadership amid the ongoing war, which erupted after Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. That attack killed 1,219 people—mostly civilians—and saw 251 hostages taken into Gaza. According to Israeli estimates, 47 hostages remain in captivity, with around 20 believed to be alive.

Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has since resulted in at least 63,371 Palestinian deaths in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The United Nations considers these figures to be credible.

SR