On Wednesday, Israel carried out renewed airstrikes on an underground bunker in southern Gaza where Mohammed Sinwar, a top-ranking terrorist commander and the younger brother of former Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, is believed to be holed up.
“The IDF targeted areas near the European Hospital in Khan Younis on Wednesday after a massive bombing of the area on Tuesday in an attempt to assassinate Hamas military leader Mohammed Sinwar,” the Israel news outlet Ynetnews reported. “The military carried out a significant bombing attack on an underground command and control center beneath the hospital as attempts to find survivors inside the tunnels continued.
Mohammed Sinwar became Hamas’ overall military chief after an Israeli strike eliminated his notorious brother in an Israeli strike seven months ago.
Tuesday’s strike, which targeted Sinwar’s terrorist brother, appears to be the single biggest Israeli airstrike against Hamas since the Gaza war broke out in the aftermath of the Hamas-led October 7 massacre. “The IAF on Tuesday dropped approximately 40 bunker-busting bombs weighing a total of about a ton, similar to the elimination of Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, who was also in an underground bunker, ” the Israel news website Arutz Sheva reported Wednesday.
Besides Mohammed, other senior terrorists were believed to be inside the Hamas bunker when Tuesday’s strike took place. Hamas spokesman Abu Obeidah and the terror group’s Rafah Brigade commander, Muhammad Shabana, may have been hiding at the site.
The Times of Israel covered the details of the IDF strike:
On Tuesday afternoon, Israeli forces launched a wave of airstrikes on underground infrastructure near the European Hospital in Khan Younis, sending plumes of gray smoke into the sky above southern Gaza.Israeli security officials say the massive bombardment was aimed at Muhammad Sinwar, thought to be the de facto leader of the Hamas terror group in Gaza.Sinwar assumed leadership of Hamas’s military wing following the July assassination of its previous leader Mohammed Deif, and later emerged as the group’s top commander in the Strip after his older brother Yahya Sinwar, who had been Hamas’s leader, was killed by Israeli forces in late October.Israeli intelligence believes Sinwar was inside the targeted tunnels at the time of the attack.According to security sources, if he was inside, he was likely killed due to the force of the strike, but confirmation is still pending.
While the IDF is still assessing the outcome of Tuesday’s strike, some defense officials believe that Sinwar and other senior Hamas terror commanders may have been among those killed in the operation. “The IDF’s strike on Tuesday night to try to kill Hamas chief Mohammad Sinwar may have killed Hamas Rafah Brigade commander Muhammad Shabana, sources estimate,” the Jerusalem Post reported Wednesday. “There are also some reports that Hamas’s spokesman, Abu Obeidah, may have also been killed in the same strike.”
It may take days, if not weeks, to verify the success of the underground strike, media reports suggest. “Israeli officials increasingly believe that Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar was killed on Tuesday,” the Israel Hayom newspaper observed. “However, officials stress that, as in the case of Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, final confirmation may take several days or even weeks.”
Israeli military, on Wednesday, issues fresh evacuation orders for parts of northern Gaza in response to Hamas’s terrorist activities in the area.
According to social media posts, the evacuation order include Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, repeatedly used by Hamas in the past for sheltering terrorists and hoarding weapons.
The IDF raided the hospital in November 2023 and March 2024, capturing or killing senior Hamas terrorists and hundreds of jihad fighters.
The Times of Israel reported:
The IDF issues an evacuation warning for Palestinians in several schools and a hospital in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood, saying that Hamas is exploiting the civilian sites for terror.“Due to the Hamas terror organization exploiting civilian areas for terror activities, as shown in the attached image, the IDF will attack the area with great force,” warns the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, Col. Avichay Adraee.“For your safety, you must evacuate the area,” he adds.The school complexes and Shifa Hospital are used by displaced Gazans as shelters.
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