The Israeli military announced Sunday (Monday in Manila) that it has recovered and identified the body of Mohammed Sinwar, a de facto leader of Hamas, from a tunnel beneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated the announcement was made after a thorough identification process. Sinwar is the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, the former Hamas leader who was killed by the Israeli military in October 2024.

Mohammed Sinwar’s death marks another significant blow to Hamas’s top leadership. He was a presumed high-ranking commander and a key figure in the group’s operations in southern Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had first revealed Sinwar’s death two weeks prior, during a Knesset (Israel’s parliament) debate on the 600th day of the war. “We eliminated tens of thousands of terrorists, we eliminated (Mohammad) Deif, (Ismail) Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Sinwar,” Netanyahu said in his speech.

Sinwar had been the target of a massive Israeli airstrike on the European Hospital on May 13, a day after Hamas released Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander. At the time, the IDF reported striking “Hamas terrorists in a command-and-control center” within the hospital’s underground infrastructure. However, it took over two weeks for Israel to definitively confirm his death from that strike. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that the May 13 attack killed 28 Palestinians and wounded more than 50 others.

The tunnel where Sinwar’s body was found was reportedly connected to Hamas infrastructure beneath the hospital, further fueling Israel’s claims that Hamas members embed within civilian sites. Hamas has not yet issued a statement regarding Mohammed Sinwar’s death.

Since launching its war in Gaza in October 2023, Israel has faced mounting international pressure. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024, charging them with war crimes and crimes against humanity. Concurrently, the International Court of Justice is hearing a genocide case against Israel concerning alleged atrocities committed during the Gaza campaign. The conflict has resulted in more than 54,000 Palestinian deaths, predominantly women and children.