Camilla Jessen
Israeli strikes using heavy bunker busters may have taken out a senior Hamas figure and 10 aides beneath a Gaza hospital.
Mohammed Sinwar, a senior Hamas commander and younger brother of the group’s former leader Yahya Sinwar, was reportedly killed in a tunnel strike under the European Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, along with 10 of his aides.
The strike occurred on May 13 and was part of an Israeli campaign targeting Hamas’ underground command centers, according to Al Arabiya and Al Hadath.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the strike in the area, stating that bunker-busting bombs weighing up to a ton were used to destroy what they believe was a fortified underground facility.
Though there is no official confirmation yet, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that “all indications are that [Sinwar] was liquidated.”
Family Ties and Strategic Importance
Mohammed Sinwar was believed to have assumed a leadership role following the death of his older brother Yahya Sinwar, who was killed in an Israeli operation in October 2024.
Yahya was widely viewed as the mastermind behind the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, and his younger brother was considered a hardliner who resisted progress on ceasefire and hostage negotiations.
In a separate incident, another Sinwar brother, Zakaria Sinwar, was reportedly killed with two or three of his children in a strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp on May 16.
Zakaria was a teacher at the Islamic University in Gaza.
The IDF also reported the death of Mohammed Shabana, commander of the Rafah Brigade, in the same Khan Younis operation.
‘Gideon’s Chariots’
As of May 17, the IDF launched Operation Gideon’s Chariots, a fresh ground campaign aimed at rooting out Hamas from both southern and northern Gaza.
The operation follows Hamas’ refusal to accept an Israeli-proposed ceasefire that included the release of all surviving hostages.
The Israeli military says the goals of the operation are the destruction of remaining Hamas cells, rescue of hostages, and re-establishment of control over key areas of the Gaza Strip.
While Israel targets Hamas infrastructure, the Gaza Health Ministry — controlled by Hamas — reports that at least 132 Palestinians have been killed since the morning of May 18.
A director of field hospitals claimed that 500 people have been killed in just the past three days amid intensified air and ground strikes.