Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem on May 21, 2025. (Credit: Ronen Zvulun/AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said the military had killed Mohammad Sinwar, the presumed leader of Hamas in Gaza and the brother of slain former chief Yahya Sinwar.
"In 600 days of the 'War of Revival,' we have indeed changed the face of the Middle East," Netanyahu told Parliament.
"We drove the terrorists out of our territory, entered the Gaza Strip with force, eliminated tens of thousands of terrorists, eliminated... Mohammad Sinwar."
Israeli media had reported that Sinwar was targeted in Israeli air strikes in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on May 13.
At the time, the Israeli military said it conducted "a precise strike on Hamas terrorists in a command and control center located in an underground terrorist infrastructure site beneath the European hospital in Khan Younis."
Sinwar's older brother, Yahya, accused by Israel of masterminding Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war in Gaza, was killed in the south of the territory in October 2024.
Experts say it is likely that Mohammad Sinwar took over as the head of the armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, after its leader, Mohammad Deif, was killed.
Following the deaths of several Hamas leaders since Oct. 7, Mohammad Sinwar was considered to be at the heart of decisions on indirect negotiations with Israel, the issue of hostages and the management of Hamas' armed wing.
Hamas is designated a terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union, among others.