Israel says he found the body of the military leader of Hamas Mohammed Sinwar

The Israeli army said that it had located and identified the body of Mohammed Sinwar, the military leader of the Palestinian Armed group Hamas in Gaza.

His body was discovered in a tunnel under the European hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, Israeli defense forces (FDI) said on Sunday.

He said he had verified the identity of the body by DNA controls – although Hamas has not publicly confirmed his death.

Sinwar, 49, was killed during an air strike on May 13, which, according to the civil defense agency managed by Hamas, had killed 28 people and injured dozens.

Sinwar’s body was found alongside that of Mohammad Sabaneh, the commander of the Hamas Rafah brigade, said the FDI.

He added that “several elements belonging to Sinwar and Sabaneh were located, as well as additional intelligence results which were transferred for a more in -depth investigation”.

The FDI said that other bodies had been found, which it sought to identify.

It took a small group of foreign journalists in Gaza to Khan Younis to show them the tunnel on Sunday.

He also published a video of the small entrance to the tunnel, accessible by the soil freshly dug just in front of the European hospital.

The images show a long narrow underground corridor which leads to several pieces.

Inside some of them, heaps of clothing and plastic chairs are visible, with a rifle leaning against the wall. A video also shows an enveloped body from the tunnel by a rope.

Tscule-Paradis spokesperson Brig Gen Effie Defrin said that in one of the rooms they had found the body of Sinwar.

“This is another example of the cynical use of Hamas, using civilians as human shields, using civil infrastructure, hospitals, again and again,” he said.

Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using hospitals like hidden for arms and command centers, which the group denies.

The FDI has set up seats and attacks against hospitals in Gaza, or ordered their evacuation, leaving the territory’s health system to the edge of total collapse.

Such attacks have caused a widespread international concern because many hospitals and medical establishments have been put out of service – and the lives of patients and staff endangered.

In a statement after an Israeli strike at the Al-Ahli hospital in April, UN secretary general Antonio Guterres expressed his deep alarm and said that, under international humanitarian law, “injured and patients, medical staff and medical establishments, including hospitals, must be respected and protected”.

Gaza hospital staff also denied several times that Hamas use its facilities as a base.

The FDI will indicate this last sequence as justification of its claims and its military strategy.

As with Gaza, however, a complete independent verification is not possible.

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the unprecedented cross -border attack on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 54,880 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Ministry of Health managed by Hamas in the territory.

The battles renewed in Gaza come from the collapse of a cease-fire and hostage contract a few months ago.

Since then, Israel has reaffirmed its objective of destroying Hamas and recovering hostages, 54 of which remain in captivity and 23 would still be alive.

Mohammed Sinwar joined Hamas shortly after his foundation in the late 1980s and became a member of the group’s military wing, the Al-Qassam Izzédé brigades.

He climbed the ladder and in 2005, he was commander of the Khan Younis brigade.

Sinwar would also have been close to another of the previous military leaders in Hamas, Mohammed Deif, and had been involved in the planning of the October 7 attack.

His brother and predecessor, Yahya Sinwar – considered one of the brains behind the attack on October 7 – was killed by Israeli troops last October.