Israel confirms Hamas terror chief ‘The Shadow' is dead as it releases footage of his hiding place in secret tunnels

Daily Mail​

a day ago

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have confirmed that Hamas chief Mohammed Sinwar was killed in a strike on the European hospital in southern Gaza as it released footage of his body being discovered in secret tunnels.
The de facto leader of the terror group, 49, was eliminated in an IDF strike on May 13 with troops on Sunday recovering his body from a tunnel in Khan Yunis.
The military made the announcement after the body had gone through an identification process, with the military sharing on X Sinwar's alleged Israeli and Hamas documentation, as well as his driver's license.
In bodycam footage of the find also posted to X, a soldier enters a deep tunnel outside the medical facility before making their way down a dim corridor.
They stumble into a packed out room filled with what appears to be guns and ammunition before panning the camera to find Sinwar's camouflaged body on the ground.
The IDF member then makes their way through several other tunnels which lead to dark rooms filled with equipment.
The IDF wrote: 'Mohammad Sinwar was responsible for the deaths of countless civilians. He was eliminated in an IDF & ISA strike on May 13.
'His body was found beneath the European hospital in Khan Yunis - more proof of how Sinwar, and Hamas, hide behind their civilians and purposely embed themselves in civilian areas, such as hospitals.
The IDF said: 'His body was found beneath the European hospital in Khan Yunis - more proof of how Sinwar, and Hamas, hide behind their civilians and purposely embed themselves in civilian areas, such as hospitals'
'He died the way he lived - underground'.
Sinwar, nicknamed 'The Shadow' and 'The Butcher of Khan Younis', was targeted in a massive airstrike on the hospital in Khan Yunis on May 13, just a day after Hamas released Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander.
At the time, the IDF said it had struck 'Hamas terrorists in a command-and-control centre' in underground infrastructure at the hospital.
Yet, it took over two weeks for Israel to confirm it had definitely killed Sinwar in the strike.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the announcement on the 600th day of the war two weeks ago.
'We changed the face of the Middle East, we pushed the terrorists from our territories, we entered the Gaza Strip with force, we eliminated tens of thousands of terrorists, we eliminated (Mohammad) Deif, (Ismail) Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Sinwar,' he said in a speech at the Knesset, Israel's parliament.
The attack killed 28 Palestinians and wounded more than 50 others, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said after the strike.
Hamas apparently hid Sinwar's body in a tunnel to prevent Israel verifying his death and to ensure he could receive a high-profile funeral at a time of the group's choosing.
According to Israeli reports, its military took advantage of Sinwar briefly separating himself from some of the hostages who remain in Hamas custody following the atrocities of October 7, 2023.
Sinwar used the hostages as human shields, confident Israel would not target him, but he attended talks with Hamas political leaders on May 13 without them.
Word reached Israeli military commanders, and to the surprise of those involved in the operation, authorization was granted for air strikes close to the hospital.
Mohammed Sinwar took over the leadership of Hamas's military wing last year following the death of his older brother Yahya.
Remarkable footage recorded by a drone showed Yahya sitting in an armchair in the devastated remains of a multi-story building following an air strike in October.
He appeared to wave a piece of floorboard in defiance at the reconnaissance drone. Minutes later an air strike reduced the structure to rubble.
Israeli soldiers subsequently dragged Yahya's body from the rubble.
His death was a watershed moment for the country as he was the main planner behind the October 7 attacks which killed 1,200 people and resulted in 250 hostages being taken into Gaza.
The atrocity triggered Israel's retaliatory assault on the Occupied Palestinian Territories which has cost more than 50,000 lives, led to two million people being displaced and caused a humanitarian catastrophe.
The celebration in Israel surrounding Mohammed Sinwar's death came amid shocking scenes of humanitarian aid centers being over-run and crowds looting boxes of desperately needed supplies in Gaza.
Controversially, Israel has sidelined the major international aid agencies and set up its own distribution system in conjunction with the U.S.
It said it did not want Hamas to intercept aid meant for Gaza residents.
Opponents of Israel have accused the country of orchestrating the provision of lifesaving supplies effectively to enable ethnic cleansing.