Tel Aviv: Israeli fighter jets launched a massive airstrike on the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis this week, targeting senior Hamas leader, Muhammad Sinwar, according to Israeli security sources. He is the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, the former Hamas leader who was killed by Israeli forces in 2023. Yahya Sinwar was widely seen as the mastermind behind the October 7, 2023, attacks that triggered the ongoing war.
The strike reportedly hit an area near the European Hospital, where the Israeli military claimed a Hamas command center was located underground. Though officials would not confirm whether Muhammad Sinwar was present at the site, Israeli sources indicated the operation aimed to eliminate one of Hamas’s last remaining top leaders in Gaza.
Israel has threatened another major military offensive in the Gaza Strip unless Hamas lays down its weapons and turns over the 20 living hostages it still holds, along with the remains of around 40 others. Hamas leaders have refused to disarm, adding that they will not release the captives unless Israel ends the war, according to the New York Times.
At the time of the 2023 attacks, Muhammad Sinwar was heading operations in Hamas’s military wing. Following his brother’s death, he stepped into a more prominent leadership role, particularly in southern Gaza.
