The Israel Defense Forces carried out a major airstrike on Tuesday afternoon targeting senior Hamas figure Muhammad Sinwar in the southern region of Gaza. The strike was directed at a subterranean Hamas operations hub believed to be situated beneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis. Although the IDF acknowledged hitting the site, it did not confirm whether Sinwar had been killed. The military released video footage that appeared to show damage caused by the strike, including a tunnel entrance near the hospital—though the imagery showed a nearby school instead of the hospital itself.
Clips shared on social media captured thick smoke billowing around the hospital complex as Israeli jets unleashed dozens of heavy munitions. Additional footage showed parts of the ground caving in near the targeted zone. The Hamas-controlled health ministry claimed that 16 people were killed and over 70 others wounded in the bombardment, though no confirmation emerged regarding Sinwar’s fate.
Later in the day, militants in northern Gaza launched three rockets toward Ashkelon and Sderot in Israel. According to the IDF, two projectiles were intercepted, while a third fell in an unpopulated area, causing no injuries. Palestinian Islamic Jihad took credit for the rocket attack.
In response, the IDF instructed residents of Jabalia in northern Gaza to evacuate immediately. Colonel Avichay Adraee, the military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, published a map online highlighting the designated evacuation zone and described it as a “final warning” ahead of an impending assault.
Military intelligence officials continued to investigate whether Sinwar had been successfully eliminated in the strike. Based on available intelligence, sources believed that if he had indeed been present in the tunnel during the strike, he was most likely killed. They noted that the operation was carried out during a brief window of opportunity.
The army stressed that it had taken significant precautions to avoid civilian harm, citing the use of high-precision weaponry, aerial reconnaissance, and extensive intelligence gathering. “The Hamas terror organization continues to use hospitals in the Gaza Strip for terror purposes, cynically and cruelly exploiting the civilian population in and around the hospital,” the IDF said.
Later that day, Palestinian news outlets reported further airstrikes in the area around the hospital. These follow-up attacks were likely intended to block access to the targeted underground site.
Muhammad Sinwar has been a key figure within Hamas’s military command and is the brother of Yahya Sinwar, the former top Hamas leader in Gaza. After the reported deaths of senior commanders Yahya Sinwar and Muhammad Deif, Muhammad Sinwar assumed leadership of Hamas’s military activities in Gaza.
Israeli officials consider Sinwar a major impediment to both ceasefire negotiations and hostage release efforts. He is a longtime Hamas operative with a history of involvement in terror operations against Israel.
In the 1990s, Sinwar served a nine-month sentence in an Israeli prison. He was later incarcerated by the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah for three years before escaping in 2000. He played a role in the 2006 kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and previously commanded Hamas’s forces in Khan Younis.

{Matzav.com Israel}