Israel military says identified body of Hamas Gaza chief Mohammed Sinwar

The Israeli army on Sunday said it recovered the body of Mohammed Sinwar, a senior Hamas commander who was killed in a May 13 airstrike at a Gaza hospital.

Sinwar's remains were found in a tunnel beneath the European Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Mohammad Sabaneh, the commander of Hamas' Rafah Brigade, died in the same strike, the army said. Additional bodies were found at the site and are being examined, the military said.

"In a targeted operation of the IDF (military)... and following the completion of an identification process, it is now confirmed that the body of Mohammed Sinwar was located in the underground tunnel route beneath the European Hospital in Khan Yunis," the army said in a statement, adding that Sinwar was killed on May 13.

Hamas has yet to acknowledge Sinwar's death.

Mohammed Sinwar was the brother and successor of deceased Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that triggered the devastating war in Gaza. Yahya Sinwar was killed by Israeli forces in October 2024.

Most senior Hamas leaders in Gaza have been killed by Israel during the war, including its former military commander Mohammed Deif. Hamas' former political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed last July in Iran in an attack attributed to Israel.