Israel Defense Forces soldiers retrieved the body of slain Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar from a terror tunnel complex under the European Hospital in the Khan Yunis area, the military confirmed on Sunday.
“Following the completion of the identification process, it has been confirmed that the body of Mohammed Sinwar was located in the underground route beneath the European Hospital in Khan Yunis,” announced the IDF in a Hebrew statement on Sunday evening.
Sinwar was killed on May 13 when Israeli Air Force jets attacked the underground base with bunker-busting munitions. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed his death on May 28.
According to Israel’s Channel 12 broadcaster, Sinwar’s body was pulled from the tunnel by soldiers of the Golani Commando Battalion (formerly known as the Golani Reconnaissance Battalion) over the weekend and transferred to Israel for confirmation of identity.
The remains of Hamas Rafah Brigade commander Mohammed Shabanah, who died alongside Sinwar, as well as weapons and intelligence documents, were also seized from the compound, according to the report.
Sunday night’s IDF statement said that “during the operation, additional terrorist bodies were found; their identities are currently being verified.”
The IDF had previously confirmed on Saturday that its soldiers had operated in underground infrastructure near the European Hospital.
“During the activity, IDF troops reached an underground route that was struck three weeks ago, where Muhammad Sinwar and other terrorists were located,” the army stated at the time, adding, “Bodies of terrorists who have not yet been identified were located in the area.”
Sinwar was a senior Hamas commander and a brother of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip, who Israeli ground forces killed on Oct. 16. Following his brother’s death, Mohammed Sinwar served as the group’s top “military” leader.
The Israeli military noted last week that Mohammed Sinwar had been “among the most senior and long-serving members of Hamas’s military wing and played a significant role in planning and executing the brutal Oct. 7 massacre.”
