The Israeli army said on Sunday that it located and identified the remains of Mohamed Sinwar, the alleged leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza, killed in a bombing on May 13.

“The body of Mohamed Sinwar was found in the underground tunnel located beneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis,” the Israeli military said in a statement.

The Israeli military said that Sinwar, the brother of late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, was killed on May 13.

“During searches conducted in the tunnels, several items belonging to Sinwar were located (…) along with additional intelligence that was transferred for investigation,” the military said.

Found in a tunnel

Army spokeswoman General Effie Defrin told reporters escorted by Israeli forces to the scene on Sunday that Sinwar’s body was found “beneath the hospital, directly below the emergency room, in a compound with several rooms.”

The spokesman said they confirmed Sinwar’s identity through “DNA evidence and other checks.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on May 28 that the army killed Sinwar, whose brother Yahya was also killed by Israeli forces during the Gaza war.

Yahya Sinwar, considered the main architect of Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza, was killed in October 2024.

Experts say that Mohamed Sinwar likely took over command of Hamas's armed wing, the Ezedin al-Qassam Brigades, after the death of Mohamed Deif.

Observers also estimate that following the assassination of several senior Hamas leaders since the outbreak of the Gaza war, Mohamed Sinwar was involved in decisions regarding indirect negotiations with Israel, the hostage issue, and the management of Hamas's armed wing, an organization classified as “terrorist” by the United States and the EU.