The head of Hamas and younger brother of Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar has been killed in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Wednesday.
Mohammed Sinwar, who became Hamas’ leader after his brother was killed last year, was reportedly killed in an airstrike targeting a hidden bunker below the European Hospital in Khan Younis last week.
It remains unclear if Sinwar was killed in the May 19 bombing, or if he was taken out in the dozens of airstrikes across Gaza over the last two days, which preceded Netayahu’s announcement.
A video released by the Israeli army says to show 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. via REUTERSHamas has yet to announce Sinwar’s death.
Reports first emerged of Sinwar’s death following the May 19 bombing, with the Israel Defense Forces claiming in a close-door parliamentary meeting that “based on all indications,” the Hamas chief was killed in the hospital bunker.
Hamas-linked health officials said at least 16 people were killed in the blast, but the Ministry of Health never confirmed if Sinwar was among the deceased.
The IDF had not publicly confirmed his death before Netanyahu’s announcement on Wednesday.
Sinwar became the de facto leader of Hamas after his older brother was killed in a routine IDF raid in southern Gaza in October.
The two brothers were reportedly together during the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack, with Sinwar seen fleeing his home with his older sibling’s family just days after the war began.
Mohammed’s brother, Yahya Sinwar, was killed by Israel last year. SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesJust like his older brother, the younger Sinwar has been credited with sinking several of the cease-fire deals that had been proposed to free the remaining hostages in Gaza.
Sinwar has also been in charge of bolstering Hamas’ ranks in Gaza, with the terror group touting earlier this year that it enlisted just as many fighters as it had lost in the fight with Israel.
Sinwar’s death, however, is not expected to cause a huge disruption among Hamas, as the terror group has already lost two of its chiefs during the war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Sinwar’s death Wednesday. REUTERSAnalysts previously told The Post that after losing nearly all its commanders throughout the war and following the older Sinwar’s death, Hamas had rebuilt itself to operate with multiple heads rather than relying on a single leader.
Avi Issacharoff, of the Israeli Ynet outlet, speculated that with Sinwar dead, “it may open the door for more pragmatic voices within Hamas’ leadership, such as Khalil al-Hayya and others currently involved in negotiations with Qatar and the Americans.”
Al-Hayya was among the favorites to succeed the older Sinwar before the role fell to the younger brother.
With Post wires
