Israel has “apparently” eliminated Mohammed Sinwar, a senior Gaza-based terrorist and brother of former Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, in a recent airstrike, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a press conference on Wednesday evening.
The Israeli Air Force (IAF), on May 4, targeted Mohammed and several other senior terrorists in a precision strike on an underground terror base located in Khan Younis, a Hamas stronghold in southern Gaza. Hamas’ spokesman, Abu Obaida, and the Rafah Brigade commander, Muhammad Shabana, were also hiding at the site targeted in the strike, media reports say.
Mohammed had reportedly been elevated to the rank of Hamas’ overall ‘military chief’ after the killing of his evil elder brother in an Israeli military operation seven months ago.
ABC News reported Prime Minister Netanyahu’s remarks:
Israel has likely killed Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a press conference on Wednesday.Sinwar is the current head of the terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. He took over from his brother, Yahya Sinwar, in October 2024 after he was killed by Israeli forces in southern Gaza.”We eliminated tens of thousands of terrorists,” Netanyahu said, adding of Hamas targets, “We eliminated the leaders of the murderers Deif, Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar and it appears we also eliminated Mohammed Sinwar.”
The Israeli prime minister’s statement comes amid Arab media reports suggesting that Hamas terrorists retrieved Muhammad’s body from the tunnel and gave him a quick burial, the Times of Israel reported Wednesday:
Hamas representatives two days ago informed the family of Muhammad Sinwar, the commander of Hamas’s military wing in Gaza, that he was killed in a tunnel in Khan Younis, the Saudi-owned, London-based newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reports.According to the report, which comes eight days after the IDF targeted Sinwar in a series of airstrikes, Hamas special forces arrived at the tunnel in Khan Younis that had been attacked, discovered Sinwar’s body, and additional forces were later sent to retrieve it and bury him temporarily.The report also states that Hamas confirmed that also killed in the strike on the tunnel were Rafah Brigade Commander Muhammad Shabana and a battalion commander from the Rafah Brigade whose name is not mentioned. The outlet reports that Sinwar and Shabana entered the tunnel three days before the strike.
Eliminating Muhammad Sinwar and other terrorist Hamas leaders is a key objective of the operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots’ launched by the IDF two weeks ago. The airstrike on his underground hideout was among the biggest since the Gaza war began in the wake of the October 7 massacre. The Israeli news website Arutz Sheva noted that fighter jets “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.”
With Hamas not interested in the negotiated release of the remaining hostages in return for a temporary ceasefire, Prime Minister Netanyahu, on Wednesday, presented his plan for ending the war in Gaza.
Israel was determined to free the hostage militarily and eliminate Hamas as a terrorist force in the area, the Israeli prime minister said at the press conference.
Netanyahu once again praised President Trump’s plan for Gaza that envisages a large-scale relocation of Gaza residents for the post-war reconstruction of the terrorist-ridden enclave to take place, The Times of Israel reported:
During his first press conference in five months, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday named the implementation of US President Donald Trump’s “revolutionary” plan to relocate Gaza’s civilians as a condition for ending the conflict, the first time he has made such a demand. He called Trump’s plan “brilliant,” and said it had the potential to change the face of the Middle East. (…)Israel has a “very organized” plan to achieve its war aims in Gaza, he insisted, saying its aims are “To defeat Hamas, which carried out the atrocities of October 7; to bring back all of our hostages; and to ensure that Gaza does not present a threat to Israel.”“Our forces are landing powerful blows that will get stronger against Hamas strongholds that still exist in Gaza,” he explained, promising that by the end of the operation, “all the territory of Gaza will be under Israeli security control, and Hamas will be totally defeated.”While “ready to end the war,” Netanyahu said he would only agree to do so “under clear conditions that will ensure the safety of Israel: All the hostages come home, Hamas lays down its arms, steps down from power, its leadership is exiled from the Strip… Gaza is totally disarmed; and we carry out the Trump plan. A plan that is so correct and so revolutionary.”The US and Israel share a determination to ensure that Iran cannot get the bomb and that Hamas is booted out of Gaza, he said. And “we want to ensure that Trump’s plan” for Gaza comes to fruition, he added. “It’s a brilliant plan,” he said, “that truly can bring change not only here… but can change the face of the Middle East. Change once and for all what we have been through from Gaza for decades.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Thursday, instructed the Israeli hostage negotiating team to leave Qatar as Hamas refuses to accept the latest U.S.-backed proposal.
“Israel on Thursday recalled its remaining delegation from Doha after indirect negotiations with Hamas over a hostage deal stalled,” the Israeli news website Ynetnews reported, citing official sources. “The decision to withdraw all representatives came after Hamas failed to respond to a U.S.-backed proposal that Israel had accepted.”
The Israeli government recalled the entire team from Qatar after Hamas refused to respond to the latest proposal presented by Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East. The Jerusalem Post quoted an unnamed official as saying that Hamas “hasn’t responded to the American proposal that Israel accepted and is sticking to its refusal [to reach a deal]. If there is a change and Hamas accepts the offer, the delegation will head immediately to wherever needed.”
As part of the ongoing operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots,’ the IDF released the location of senior Hamas terrorists hiding among civilians in Gaza. The Israeli military publicized the locations to minimize civilian casualties as Hamas continues to use Gazans as human shields.
The Israeli news website Arutz Sheva reported:
IDF Arabic Language Spokesman Avichay Adraee published a special post on Thursday, addressing the residents of Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip, and warning them of Hamas terrorist activity in civilian areas.In the post, Adraee wrote: “This is a warning about Hamas elements hiding among you!” The post was accompanied by an aerial image of the area marked with the locations where, according to the IDF, the Hamas terrorists are hiding.According to the spokesman, “The attached image shows how Hamas terrorist elements operate in your area, using your civilian infrastructure and positioning themselves in your vicinity.”The image noted four civilian sites: a college, a mosque, a hospital, and the Deir al-Balah city hall, where, according to the IDF senior Hamas commanders, including the commander of a Nukhba cell, are staying.
Israeli air defense systems intercepted two ballistic missiles fired by the Yemen-based Houthi terrorist group. One of the missiles, on Thursday early morning, was aimed at Israel’s main Ben Gurion Airport, which the Iran-backed jihadist group hit two weeks ago, prompting Israel to launch retaliatory airstrikes on terrorist-linked ports in Yemen.
The Israeli TV channel i24NEWS reported Thursday:
A Houthi ballistic missile was intercepted before entering Israeli airspace, the Israel Defense Forces said. The missile, which triggered alarms throughout central Israel at around 3:00 am, apparently targeted Ben Gurion Airport.One person was injured on the way to shelter, according to Magen David Adom.This comes after sirens blared due to rocket launches earlier in the night from the Gaza Strip, targeting Israeli communities ajacent to the Palestinian enclave. Palestinian Islamic Jihad took responsibility for the attack, but the projectiles did not cross into Israeli territory.
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