Israel confirms elimination of senior Hamas Commander Muhammad Sinwar in Gaza airstrike

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) have confirmed the targeted killing of senior Hamas military commander Muhammad Sinwar in an IDF airstrike conducted on May 13. 

The strike hit a tunnel beneath the European Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, a site identified as an underground Hamas command and control centre, Caliber.Az reports, citing Israeli media.

According to the joint statement, two additional senior Hamas operatives were killed in the operation: Muhammad Shabana, commander of the group’s Rafah Brigade, and Mahdi Quara, who led the South Khan Younis Battalion.

“The terrorists were eliminated while operating in an underground command and control center, under the European Hospital in Khan Younis, deliberately endangering the civilian population in and around the hospital,” the IDF said in its statement.

Israeli officials emphasised that “extensive intelligence measures” were undertaken to enable a “precise strike that would mitigate civilian harm to the greatest extent possible.”

Muhammad Sinwar, the younger brother of former Gaza Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, was described by Israeli intelligence as “among the most senior and long-serving members of Hamas’s military wing.”

He had played a pivotal role in orchestrating the October 7 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of over 1,200 people and the kidnapping of more than 250, according to Israeli figures.

Following the elimination of Hamas’s military chief, Muhammad Dei,f earlier this year, Sinwar assumed command of the militant group’s armed wing. After his brother Yahya was killed by IDF troops in a separate operation, Muhammad Sinwar became the de facto head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

His militant career spanned decades. He previously commanded the Khan Younis Brigade and led Hamas’s military operations division. He was also a central figure in the 2006 abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was held captive for over five years.

Muhammad Shabana, one of the other senior commanders killed, was identified as a key figure in planning the October 7 massacre and was allegedly responsible for overseeing the captivity of Israeli hostages in southern Gaza.

By Khagan Isayev