Israeli military engineers clearing a network of underground passages beneath Gaza’s European Hospital in Khan Yunis confirmed on 8 June that one of the bodies recovered is that of Mohammed Sinwar, the de facto commander of Hamas’s forces in the enclave and younger brother of the movement’s overall leader, Yahya Sinwar. DNA tests matched samples taken from the remains with those held on file for his brother, while identity cards and other personal documents found on the corpse added further confirmation. Sinwar was last seen alive on 13 May, when Israeli bunker-busting bombs struck the hospital compound in what the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) called a precision strike on a Hamas command centre buried roughly 8 metres beneath the emergency ward. Although Israeli officials declared him “likely killed” soon after the raid, his fate had remained unverified until this week.
Inside The Hospital Tunnels
Journalists from international outlets—including the Times of Israel, the Daily Telegraph, and BBC Verify—were escorted into the cavernous warren after the IDF finished ventilating toxic gases left by decomposing bodies. The reporters described a steep shaft leading to narrow corridors only two feet wide and six feet high. Deeper inside they found crude command rooms littered with confiscated Israeli rifles, stacks of cash, tactical maps, and evidence—such as makeshift shackles and medical supplies—suggesting that at least one Israeli hostage had been held there earlier in the war.
A small side chamber, stained with dried blood, is believed to be where Sinwar and several aides died, probably from asphyxiation when the overhead concrete collapsed during the May airstrikes. IDF explosives experts said demolition charges were later used to seal both ends of a 20-metre stretch to prevent escapes or rescue attempts. Soldiers ultimately recovered five bodies, including Sinwar’s and that of Muhammad Shabana, commander of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade.
Reactions And Legal Debates
Israel argues that the European Hospital was “repurposed” into a military complex, a stance it says justified striking a facility normally protected under the laws of war. Critics counter that no evacuations were ordered and that the expected civilian toll—28 dead and 40-plus wounded—was disproportionate to the military gain. International-law specialists such as Geoffrey Nice and Lawrence Hill-Cawthorne note that even if a tunnel network existed beneath the wards, attackers must still issue warnings when feasible and balance anticipated civilian harm against operational necessity.
Hamas, for its part, has not formally acknowledged Sinwar’s death and continues to insist that no combat infrastructure lay beneath the hospital grounds. Spokesman Osama Hamdan labelled the IDF tour for foreign media “propaganda” and claimed tunnel entrances shown were unrelated to the facility. Israeli officials dismiss that assertion, pointing to recovered documents, DNA evidence, and what they describe as “a treasure trove” of operational data seized from the site.
Broader Implications For The War
Sinwar’s killing removes a seasoned tactician credited with reorganising Hamas’s southern brigades after the loss of Mohammed Deif last year. Israeli analysts believe his absence will disrupt command cohesion in Khan Yunis and Rafah at a critical moment, as the IDF presses its assault on remaining strongholds and negotiators float new cease-fire proposals. Yet experts caution that leadership decapitation rarely ends insurgencies outright; Hamas has historically filled top posts quickly, and field commanders enjoy considerable autonomy.
Beyond immediate battlefield calculus, the episode reignites scrutiny of combat inside sensitive civilian sites. United Nations officials renewed calls for independent investigations into all strikes on medical facilities, while Israeli lawmakers argued the discovery proves militants systematically exploit hospitals as shields. How the European Hospital case is ultimately adjudicated—in courts of opinion or law—could shape the legal contours of urban warfare well beyond Gaza.