 "A video released by the Israeli army shows Mohammed Sinwar, brother of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, travelling in a car through a tunnel near the Erez crossing, close to the Israel-Gaza border, amid the ongoing conflict on December 17, 2023. (Photo: Reuters)")
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday (May 28) that Israeli forces had killed Mohammed Sinwar, a senior Hamas commander and the brother of the group’s former Gaza leader, Yahya Sinwar.
Speaking in parliament, Netanyahu said the military operation formed part of a broader campaign he described as the “War of Revival,” which has now lasted 600 days. “We drove the terrorists out of our territory, entered the Gaza Strip with force, eliminated tens of thousands of terrorists, eliminated… Mohammed Sinwar,” Netanyahu declared.
Mohammed Sinwar was widely believed to have assumed command of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, following the reported death of its long-time leader Mohammed Deif. Israeli media reported that Sinwar was targeted in airstrikes on 13 May in the southern city of Khan Yunis.
At the time, the Israeli Defence Forces said they had conducted “a precise strike on Hamas terrorists in a command and control centre located in an underground terrorist infrastructure site beneath the European hospital in Khan Younis.” Sinwar’s death has not yet been confirmed by Hamas.
A leadership void amid ongoing war
Sinwar’s older brother Yahya, who Israel accused of orchestrating the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack that ignited the current conflict, was killed in southern Gaza in October 2024.
Since then, Mohammed Sinwar had reportedly become central to both the armed and political operations of Hamas in Gaza. He was thought to be heavily involved in decisions over indirect talks with Israel, the fate of hostages held by Hamas, and the coordination of the group’s remaining fighters.
The war in Gaza has seen the deaths of several top Hamas figures, intensifying the Israeli military’s efforts to dismantle the group’s command structure.
Hamas is classified as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the United States, the European Union and other governments. The group has not yet publicly acknowledged the death of Mohammed Sinwar.