The head of Hamas’s military wing has been ‘eliminated’ in a massive air strike in Gaza, it was announced last night.

In a development which raised hopes of an end to the conflict, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had taken ‘a dramatic turn toward the complete defeat of Hamas’.

Preventing Hamas from posing a military threat has repeatedly been offered by Israel as justification for its devastating bombing campaign of Palestinian territory. 

There were hopes last night that the death of Mohammed Sinwar may encourage Israel to acknowledge that this aim had been met.

In recent weeks, Israel has come under mounting pressure to end its siege of Gaza, including from UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

The British Government has also condemned Israel’s plans to occupy Gaza because the UK supports the two-state solution as a means to bringing peace to the Middle East.

Sinwar, 49, nicknamed ‘The Shadow’ and ‘The Butcher of Khan Younis’, was the target of multiple air strikes on a Hamas command centre beneath the European Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on May 13.

Israel said it targeted a Hamas ‘command and control centre’ under the hospital, but has not confirmed whether Sinwar was killed in that strike.

The head of Hamas 's military wing, Mohammad Sinwar, has been 'eliminated' in a massive air strike in Gaza

The head of Hamas ‘s military wing, Mohammad Sinwar, has been ‘eliminated’ in a massive air strike in Gaza

Mohammad Sinwar was the brother of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar (pictured), who was killed by the IDF in October last year

Mohammad Sinwar was the brother of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar (pictured), who was killed by the IDF in October last year 

Israel said it targeted a Hamas 'command and control centre' under a hospital, but has not confirmed whether Sinwar was killed in that strike. Pictured: Palestinians inspect the damage, after the European Hospital was partially damaged in Israeli airstrikes, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 13

Israel said it targeted a Hamas ‘command and control centre’ under a hospital, but has not confirmed whether Sinwar was killed in that strike. Pictured: Palestinians inspect the damage, after the European Hospital was partially damaged in Israeli airstrikes, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 13

Israel announced his elimination only yesterday – on the 600th day of the conflict – following confirmation by its internal security sources.

Hamas apparently hid Sinwar’s body in a tunnel to prevent Israel verifying his death and to ensure he could receive a high-profile funeral at a time of the group’s choosing.

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.

Gaza’s civil defence agency said 28 were killed by the strikes, without confirming if Sinwar was among them.

Mohammed Sinwar took over the leadership of Hamas’s military wing last year following the death of his older brother Yahya. 

Remarkable footage recorded by a drone showed Yahya sitting in an armchair in the devastated remains of a multi-storey building following an air strike in October.

Pictured: Yahya Sinwar throwing a stick at a drone moments before his death last year

Pictured: Yahya Sinwar throwing a stick at a drone moments before his death last year 

He 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 rubble.

His death was a watershed moment for the country as he was the main planner behind the October 7 attacks which killed 1,200 people and resulted in 250 hostages being taken into Gaza.

The atrocity triggered Israel’s retaliatory assault on the Occupied Palestinian Territories which has cost more than 50,000 lives, led to two million people being displaced and caused a humanitarian catastrophe.

In an address to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, yesterday, Mr Netanyahu said: ‘We have eliminated Mohammed Deif, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Sinwar,’ a reference to Hamas’s three leaders.

The celebration in Israel surrounding Mohammed Sinwar’s death came amid shocking scenes of humanitarian aid centres being over-run and crowds looting boxes of desperately needed supplies in Gaza.

Controversially, Israel has sidelined the major international aid agencies and set up its own distribution system in conjunction with the US. 

It said it did not want Hamas to intercept aid meant for Gaza residents.

The death of Yahya Sinwar last yeat was a watershed moment for Israel as he was the main planner behind the October 7 attacks. The atrocity triggered Israel's retaliatory assault on the Occupied Palestinian Territories

The death of Yahya Sinwar last yeat was a watershed moment for Israel as he was the main planner behind the October 7 attacks. The atrocity triggered Israel’s retaliatory assault on the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Israel's retaliation has cost more than 50,000 lives, led to two million people being displaced and caused a humanitarian catastrophe

Israel’s retaliation has cost more than 50,000 lives, led to two million people being displaced and caused a humanitarian catastrophe

Mohammed Sinwar's death came amid shocking scenes of humanitarian aid centres being over-run in Gaza

Mohammed Sinwar’s death came amid shocking scenes of humanitarian aid centres being over-run in Gaza 

Palestinians living in makeshift tents on the coast struggle amid starvation and Israeli blockade in Gaza Strip on May 28, 2025

Palestinians living in makeshift tents on the coast struggle amid starvation and Israeli blockade in Gaza Strip on May 28, 2025

Displaced Palestinians ferry bags of food aid after storming a World Food Programme warehouse in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on May 28

Displaced Palestinians ferry bags of food aid after storming a World Food Programme warehouse in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on May 28

Opponents of Israel have accused the country of orchestrating the provision of lifesaving supplies effectively to enable ethnic cleansing

Opponents of Israel have accused the country of orchestrating the provision of lifesaving supplies effectively to enable ethnic cleansing

The United Nations on May 28 condemned a US-backed aid system in Gaza following a chaotic food distribution where 47 people were injured, after Israel allowed supplies in at a trickle last week, easing a full blockade imposed on the besieged Palestinian territory for over two months

The United Nations on May 28 condemned a US-backed aid system in Gaza following a chaotic food distribution where 47 people were injured, after Israel allowed supplies in at a trickle last week, easing a full blockade imposed on the besieged Palestinian territory for over two months

Palestinians sit next to the rubble of houses destroyed in Israel's military offensive, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza

Palestinians sit next to the rubble of houses destroyed in Israel’s military offensive, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza

Opponents of Israel have accused the country of orchestrating the provision of lifesaving supplies effectively to enable ethnic cleansing.

The meeting attended by Mohammed Sinwar and Hamas political chiefs was understood to have taken place in a tunnel network. 

Other officials present included the commander of the Rafah Brigade, Mohammed Shabana.

According to Israeli reports, the intelligence indicating there were no hostages in or near the meeting was ‘ironclad’.

Media in Saudi Arabia suggested Sinwar and ten of his aides were killed in the strikes.

The Israeli military was more reluctant than Mr Netanyahu to confirm Sinwar’s death, but defence minster Israel Katz said: ‘According to all the indications, Mohammed Sinwar was eliminated.’

Sinwar rose to prominence within Hamas after belonging to the terror cell that kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006, but he remained in the shadow of his elder brother.

Another sibling, Zakaria, was apparently severely wounded in an Israeli air strike last Saturday.

A funeral ceremony is held following bodies of two Palestinians who lost their lives in an Israeli strike targeting an aid distribution center in Rafah are taken from the morgue of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza, on May 28

A funeral ceremony is held following bodies of two Palestinians who lost their lives in an Israeli strike targeting an aid distribution center in Rafah are taken from the morgue of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza, on May 28

Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages held captive in the Gaza Strip since the October 7 attack in southern Israel, hold their portraits and chant slogans during a protest at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on May 28, 2025, to mark 600 days of their captivity and demand their release and ending the war

Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages held captive in the Gaza Strip since the October 7 attack in southern Israel, hold their portraits and chant slogans during a protest at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on May 28, 2025, to mark 600 days of their captivity and demand their release and ending the war

Most of the Hamas leadership has been killed during the ongoing conflict.

Yesterday, the European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, claimed Israel’s air strikes ‘go beyond what is necessary to fight Hamas’. She also reiterated the EU’s objection to Israel’s new aid distribution model, which has bypassed the United Nations and other agencies.

Ms Kallas added: ‘Humanitarian aid cannot be weaponised.’ Since the breakdown of ceasefire talks in March, around 4,000 more people have been killed in Gaza.

Last Friday, an air strike on Khan Younis killed nine of a Palestinian doctor’s ten children. On Monday, at least 35 people were killed in a bombing of a school building sheltering displaced families.

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