The IDF and Shin Bet have confirmed they carried out an airstrike on the European Hospital in Khan Younis on Tuesday targeting Mohammed Sinwar, who took over command of the terrorist group’s military operations after the death of his brother Yahya Sinwar last year.
Israeli news Channel 12 cited security officials as saying they were “cautiously optimistic” that Sinwar had been killed in the strike, which used bunker-busting bombs to target an underground complex beneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis. The army said the site was being used as a terrorist command centre.
However, no official confirmation has been given regarding Sinwar’s status and his whereabouts are unknown.
Footage posted on social media showed significant damage in the area surrounding the hospital.
Arab media outlets, including the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen, said the strike had killed more than 20 people and injured more than 70 more.
The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry reported at least 16 killed and over 70 wounded in the hospital vicinity. The ministry’s figures, though, do not distinguish between fighters and civilians.
Israeli officials said that Hamas’s use of civilian infrastructure for military purposes violates international law and endangers innocent lives.
“We will not allow Hamas to hide behind hospitals or humanitarian sites,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said. “We will strike its leaders wherever they are hiding until we achieve our war objectives – freeing our hostages and eliminating Hamas’s military capabilities.”
Mohammed is the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by the IDF in October last year.
The elder Sinwar was one of the masterminds of the October 7 attacks, alongside Mohammed Deif who was killed last July.
