Netanyahu Claims Assassination of Hamas Commander Mohammed Sinwar in Gaza Strike
Israeli Prime Minister says top Hamas leaders, including Mohammed Sinwar, were eliminated as part of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, sparking fierce political backlash.
Watan-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on Wednesday that the Israeli military had assassinated Mohammed Sinwar, a senior Hamas commander in Gaza and the younger brother of the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Israeli media previously reported that Sinwar had been targeted in an airstrike earlier this month. While there were hints from Israeli sources that he was killed in a strike on the European Hospital in Khan Younis (southern Gaza), this marks the first time Netanyahu publicly confirmed the alleged assassination. Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied the claim.
During a heated session in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament), Netanyahu stated: “We eliminated [Mohammed] Deif, [Ismail] Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, and Mohammed Sinwar.”
Mohammed is the brother of Yahya Sinwar, head of Hamas’ political bureau, who was reportedly assassinated by Israel on October 16, 2024.
Netanyahu went on to claim:“We’ve cut off Hamas’ arms supply,” in an attempt to highlight what he described as his government’s achievements in Gaza. However, the session was interrupted by loud criticism from lawmakers.
ترجمة قدس| صحيفة “هآرتس” عن مصادر أمنية: لا تأكيد حتى الآن على نجاح اغتيال محمد السنوار بخلاف ما أعلنه نتنياهو
🌐 https://t.co/qosjkWQiyy pic.twitter.com/KTFPJVVM1Z
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) May 28, 2025
Knesset security expelled MP Ofer Cassif, from the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality, after he accused Netanyahu of “bombing children and starving Gaza.”
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has waged a genocidal war on Gaza, involving mass killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring international appeals and binding orders from the International Court of Justice to halt the assault.
The war—waged with full U.S. support—has resulted in over 177,000 Palestinian deaths and injuries, most of them women and children, in addition to over 11,000 missing and hundreds of thousands displaced. Starvation has claimed numerous lives, including children.
Netanyahu declared:“We’ve changed the face of the Middle East, broken the grip of the Iranian axis.”
In response to critics, he added:“You’re trying to break people’s spirit. Some of you are pushing for defeat in the war. You can’t accept that the right-wing is in power—get used to it.”
He also stated:“I’m working to bring back all the hostages, alive and dead.”
Israel estimates there are 58 Israeli captives in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive. Meanwhile, more than 10,100 Palestinians remain in Israeli prisons, suffering torture, starvation, and medical neglect that has caused several deaths, according to human rights reports.
Netanyahu concluded:“We will disarm the Gaza Strip. They ask me what total victory looks like—this is total victory.”
Palestinian factions firmly reject disarmament while Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories continues.
Israel’s opposition and families of captives accuse Netanyahu of prolonging the war to satisfy the far-right bloc in his government and to serve his personal political survival.
Israel has for decades occupied territories in Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon, and continues to refuse a full withdrawal or the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital based on the pre-1967 borders.
