Latest news with #MohammadSinwar
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Netanyahu says Hamas Gaza chief Mohammad Sinwar has been killed
JERUSALEM − Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas Gaza chief, Mohammad Sinwar, one of its most wanted and the younger brother of the group's deceased leader, Yahya Sinwar, had been killed. The annoucement was made May 28. Mohammad Sinwar was elevated to the top ranks of the Palestinian militant group last year after Israel killed his brother Yahya in combat during the ongoing war in Gaza. Yahya Sinwar masterminded the October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war, and was later named the overall leader of the group after Israel killed his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh in Iran. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hamas chief in Gaza is dead, Netanyahu says
BBC News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Hamas faces leadership vacuum with demise of Gaza 'War Council'
With the confirmed killing of Hamas's top military commander Mohammad Sinwar in an Israeli strike, a chapter has closed on the elite leadership group in Gaza that orchestrated the events of 7 October, demise follows the confirmed killings of other central figures who sat on what came to be known inside Hamas as the War his brother Yahya, Marwan Issa and a fifth unidentified figure formed the clandestine core that decided on and directed the unprecedented assault on Israel - one which shook the region and set off the conflict still unfolding in War Council, sometimes also known as the Quintet Council, operated under conditions of extreme security and meetings between its members were exceedingly rare. Instead, communication occurred through older technology deemed more secure, like cable phones, or via trusted intermediaries, all in an effort to minimise the risk of interception or level of secrecy was not just tactical: it reflected the council's critical role in Hamas's strategic decision-making, especially in preparation for what became the most complex and deadly attack in the organisation's history. The known members of the council included:Mohammed Deif - the commander of Hamas's military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, who is believed to have masterminded the 7 October attack. He was killed in an Israeli air strike in July 2024Yahya Sinwar - the political leader of Hamas in Gaza and its most influential decision-maker in recent years. He was killed in a firefight with Israeli troops in October 2024Mohammad Sinwar - a senior military figure and Deif's trusted lieutenant. Israel said this week that it had identified his body in Gaza following an air strike in MayMarwan Issa - Deif's deputy and a vital link between Hamas's military and political spheres. He was killed in an Israeli air strike in March 2024A fifth figure - whose identity remains unknown to the public - who was in charge of organising Hamas's security apparatus. He was targeted in assassination attempts before the war and an air strike during it, and suffered such severe injuries that he can no longer communicate or carry out any activities, according to one source The 7 October attack marked a seismic shift in the Israeli-Palestinian scale and brutality of the attack stunned observers worldwide - not just for its immediate impact, but for its unprecedented military preparations took years - including extensive tunnel construction and the steady accumulation of rockets and weapons - but few analysts, regional actors, or even rival Palestinian factions foresaw the magnitude of the group had long maintained strict control over Gazans and had often imposed harsh economic measures, including heavy taxes, on an already impoverished population to fund its military even within the movement, there appears to have been a limited understanding of the scale and consequences of the plan hatched by the War Council. Its demise raises a profound question: what exactly drove its members to pursue a course that many Palestinians have described as politically suicidal?With Israel's overwhelming military response and the international isolation that followed, the 7 October attack has increasingly been viewed as a desperate gamble - one that lacked a clear political exit strategy and led to massive suffering for Gaza's civilian with most of the core decision-makers dead, uncovering the deeper motivations and strategic calculus behind the attack may no longer be internal debates occurred within the council? Were there dissenting voices? Was this a bid for regional relevance, a provocation timed with regional shifts, or a last-ditch effort to break a long-standing siege?Answers to these questions may have died with the men who conceived the dismantling of the war council leaves Hamas facing a potential leadership vacuum at a critical military capabilities have been severely degraded, its political leadership - who operated out of Qatar until November 2024, after which their whereabouts became unclear - is under intense pressure, and its traditional mechanisms of control within Gaza have been deeply disrupted. The absence of a centralised strategic command may lead to fragmentation within Hamas, or the rise of new, perhaps more radical it may open a pathway for recalibration - if not by Hamas, then by other Palestinian actors seeking to fill the void left fall of Hamas's War Council marks the end of a shadowy but powerful inner circle that shaped one of the most consequential decisions in the movement's their legacy will be seen by Palestinians as one of bold resistance or catastrophic miscalculation, one thing is certain: with their departure, a defining era in the leadership of Hamas has come to a close.
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![Mohammad Sinwar: Dramatic Video Captures Moment Israeli Forces Pull Out Hamas Chief's Body from Tunnel Underneath Gaza Hospital [WATCH]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fall-logos-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fibtimes.sg.png&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
International Business Times
09-06-2025
- Politics
- International Business Times
Mohammad Sinwar: Dramatic Video Captures Moment Israeli Forces Pull Out Hamas Chief's Body from Tunnel Underneath Gaza Hospital [WATCH]
Israel has released dramatic footage showing the body of Hamas leader Mohammad Sinwar being pulled out from tunnels beneath a Gaza hospital where he had been hiding during an airstrike. In the video shared Sunday by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), soldiers wearing body cameras are seen lifting a white body bag strapped to a stretcher. Sinwar's rotting body—the de facto leader of the Palestinian militant group—was found on a dirty mattress inside a room connected to a tunnel network beneath the hospital in Khan Yunis, a month after the facility was targeted. "Mohammad Sinwar was responsible for the deaths of countless civilians," the IDF wrote on X. Finally Confirmed Dead "He died the way he lived — underground," the post added. The IDF announced on Sunday that authorities had confirmed the body was Mohammad Sinwar's through DNA testing. Sinwar is the brother of Yahya Sinwar, the architect behind the October 7 attacks in Israel. On Sunday, the Israeli military also released documents and a driver's license believed to have belonged to Mohammad Sinwar. Mohammad Sinwar, 49, was killed in an airstrike on May 13, an attack that the Hamas-run civil defense agency reported left 28 people dead and dozens more injured. It is believed that Sinwar died from asphyxiation after airstrikes led to the collapse of the tunnel system where he had been taking shelter. According to the IDF, Sinwar's remains were found alongside those of Mohammad Sabaneh, the commander of Hamas's Rafah Brigade. The military added that " several items belonging to Sinwar and Sabaneh were located, along with additional intelligence findings that were transferred for further investigation". More Bodies Found Alongside Sinwar The IDF also found several other bodies, which are currently being identified. On Sunday, the IDF escorted a small group of international journalists to Khan Younis in Gaza to show them the tunnel complex. They also released footage of the tunnel's entrance—exposed through freshly dug soil near the European Hospital. The video shows a long, narrow passageway underground that branches into several rooms. Inside, items such as heaps of clothing, plastic chairs, and a rifle leaning against a wall can be seen. In one clip, a covered body is shown being dragged from the tunnel using a rope. IDF spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin confirmed that Sinwar's body was found in one of those rooms. "This is another example of the cynical use by Hamas, using civilians as human shields, using civilian infrastructure, hospitals, again and again," he said. Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using hospitals as cover for storing weapons and operating command centers—allegations that Hamas denies. The IDF has carried out raids and blockades on hospitals across Gaza or ordered their evacuation, pushing the region's healthcare system to the brink of collapse. This has sparked widespread international concern, as several medical facilities have been forced to shut down, putting both patients and healthcare workers in serious danger.
New York Post
09-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Dramatic footage captures moment body of Hamas chief Mohammad Sinwar is pulled from hiding lair
Israel has shared dramatic footage of Hamas chief Mohammad Sinwar's body being pulled from the tunnels underneath a Gaza hospital where he was hiding when it was pounded by air strikes. Israeli soldiers wearing body cameras can be seen hoisting out a white body bag attached to a stretcher in the grim footage shared Sunday by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) The rotting corpse of Sinwar — the de facto leader of the Palestinian terror group — was found lying on a filthy mattress in a small room connected by tunnels underneath the hospital in Khan Yunis, almost a month after it was struck. Advertisement 3 A photo of several identification cards. @IDF/X 3 Pictures of Hamas chief Mohammad Sinwar's underground lair near a Gaza hospital. @IDF/X 'Mohammad Sinwar was responsible for the deaths of countless civilians,' the IDF wrote on X. Advertisement 'He died the way he lived — underground.' Authorities confirmed the body was that of Sinwar — whose brother, Yahya, masterminded the October 7 attacks in Israel — on Sunday with a DNA test, the IDF said. 3 The moment IDF hauls body of Hamas chief Mohammad Sinwar out of his underground lair near Gaza hospital. @IDF/X Advertisement Documentation and a driver's license said to belong to Sinwar were also shared by the Israeli military on Sunday. Sinwar is believed to have died of asphyxiation after bombing raids caused the tunnel network he was hiding in to collapse.
Daily Mail
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Moment IDF hauls body of Hamas chief Mohammad Sinwar out of his underground lair near Gaza hospital after wiping him out in huge airstrike caught on CCTV
Israel 's defence forces have revealed the moment the body of de facto Hamas chief Mohammad Sinwar was pulled from tunnels beneath a hospital in Khan Yunis some four weeks after the facility was battered with air strikes. The IDF said it had confirmed the death of Sinwar - brother of former Hamas leader in Gaza and October 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar - on Sunday with a DNA test. The military also shared his alleged documentation and driver's license. His rotting corpse was discovered lying on a filthy mattress in one of several small annexes connected by a web of tunnels under the EU-funded European Hospital. He is presumed to have died from asphyxiation after bombs collapsed part of the tunnel network and sucked the air from the underground hideouts. Israeli soldiers wearing body cameras explored the dank man-made cave system littered with weapons, debris and dead Hamas fighters before locating the slain terror chief. His body was subsequently stuffed into a white body bag, attached to a small stretcher and hoisted out of a huge crater next to the hospital in stark footage shared by the IDF. Mohammad became the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and chief of its armed wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, following the assassination of his brother. Israeli officials declared the strikes that killed Sinwar and other high-ranking Hamas members on May 13 a 'world-class' operation and boasted that they had managed to 'kill a terrorist hiding under a hospital, without hitting the hospital'. But horrific CCTV footage from May 13 shows the moment Israeli bombs demolished the courtyard just outside the hospital entrance, where dozens of civilians were walking. The terrified citizens are seen scrambling in a futile attempt to find cover as the bomb approaches before their bodies are torn apart and launched through the air in a fiery explosion. When the smoke clears the civilians are nowhere to be seen. The road meanwhile begins to crack and crumble as flames erupt from under the ground. Sinwar's rotting corpse was discovered lying on a filthy mattress in one of several small annexes connected by a web of tunnels under the EU-funded European Hospital Horrific CCTV footage from May 13 shows the moment Israeli bombs demolished the courtyard just outside the hospital entrance where dozens of civilians were walking The IDF released extensive footage of the Hamas tunnel network under the European Hospital after confirming Sinwar's death. In bodycam footage of the find, a soldier enters a deep tunnel outside the medical facility and makes their way down a dim corridor. They stumble into a room filled with what appears to be guns and ammunition before panning the camera to find Sinwar's camouflaged body splayed on a small bed on the floor. The IDF member then proceeds to walk through several other tunnels which lead to dark rooms filled with equipment, guns, radios and other detritus. Soldiers only entered the tunnel system after the hospital and the surrounding area were secured by members of three teams - the Golani Brigade reconnaissance unit, the Shaldag special forces and the Yahalom combat engineering unit. Reporters for the Times of Israel who were able to enter the subterranean network said the stench of rotting flesh was inescapable. An Israeli major involved in the operation to find Sinwar's body told the Times of Israel: 'We understood that those bodies were very important from the first footage when we went in. It was very serious people in the organisation.' 'The terrorists we took out are important,' he continued, 'but not as much as the weapons and intelligence that we took out from here. 'We found a military base under a hospital, period. There's no other way to say it,' he said. An official IDF statement issued in the wake of the finding read: 'Mohammad Sinwar was responsible for the deaths of countless civilians. He was eliminated in an IDF & ISA strike on May 13. 'His body was found beneath the European hospital in Khan Yunis - more proof of how Sinwar, and Hamas, hide behind their civilians and purposely embed themselves in civilian areas, such as hospitals. 'He died the way he lived - underground'. More than two dozen civilians were reportedly killed in the strikes along with Sinwar and other Hamas commanders. The rooms beyond the tunnels were seen packed with weapons and other military equipment The IDF said: 'His body was found beneath the European hospital in Khan Yunis - more proof of how Sinwar, and Hamas, hide behind their civilians and purposely embed themselves in civilian areas, such as hospitals' Sinwar, nicknamed 'The Shadow' and 'The Butcher of Khan Yunis' by Israel, was targeted in the massive airstrikes in Khan Yunis on May 13, just a day after Hamas released Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander. At the time, the IDF said it had struck 'Hamas terrorists in a command-and-control centre' in underground infrastructure at the hospital. Two weeks later, officials said they believed Sinwar had been killed in the strike, though said they could not confirm until his body had been recovered. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to announce his death two weeks ago on the 600th day of the war in Gaza following Hamas' attacks on October 7, 2023. 'We changed the face of the Middle East, we pushed the terrorists from our territories, we entered the Gaza Strip with force, we eliminated tens of thousands of terrorists, we eliminated (Mohammad) Deif, (Ismail) Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammad Sinwar,' he said in a speech at the Knesset, Israel's parliament. The attack killed 28 Palestinians and wounded more than 50 others, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said after the strike. Hamas apparently hid Sinwar's body in the tunnels beneath the European Hospital to prevent Israel verifying his death and to ensure he could receive a high-profile funeral at a time of the group's choosing. But they were forced to abandon his corpse when Israeli units stormed Khan Yunis and surrounded the hospital. According to Israeli reports, its military took advantage of Sinwar briefly separating himself from some of the hostages who remain in Hamas custody following the atrocities of October 7, 2023. Sinwar used the hostages as human shields, confident Israel would not target him, but he attended talks with Hamas political leaders on May 13 without them. Word reached Israeli military commanders, and to the surprise of those involved in the operation, authorisation was granted for air strikes close to the hospital. Mohammad Sinwar took over the leadership of Hamas's military wing last year following the death of his older brother Yahya who was killed in October 2024, a year on from Hamas' ruthless attacks he had orchestrated. Remarkable footage recorded by an Israeli drone showed Yahya sitting in an armchair in the devastated remains of a multi-storey building following an air strike. The terror leader, evidently weary and moving in a laboured fashion, appeared to wave a piece of floorboard in defiance at the reconnaissance drone. Minutes later an air strike reduced the structure to rubble. Israeli soldiers subsequently dragged Yahya's body from the ruins of the building. His death was considered a key milestone in Israeli's war on Hamas, given that he played a leading role in planning and commanding the October 7 attacks which killed 1,200 people and resulted in 250 hostages being taken into Gaza. That atrocity triggered Israel's retaliatory assault on the Occupied Palestinian Territories which has cost more than 50,000 lives, displaced millions of people and caused a humanitarian catastrophe. Controversially, Israel has sidelined the major international agencies attempting to deliver sorely needed aid to Gazans and instead set up its own shadowy aid organisation in conjunction with the US. Israel said the move was necessary to prevent Hamas from intercepting aid meant for Gaza residents. But Israel's critics have accused the country of orchestrating the provision of lifesaving supplies effectively to enable ethnic cleansing.
