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Palestinians say Israeli fire kills 5 near aid sites. Israel says it fired warning shots
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Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Israel says Hamas Gaza chief Sinwar's body identified
The Israeli military has said it has located and identified the body of Mohammed Sinwar, the military leader of Palestinian armed group Hamas in Gaza. His body was discovered in a tunnel underneath the European Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sunday. It said it had verified the body's identity through DNA checks - though Hamas has not publicly confirmed his death. Sinwar, 49, was killed in an air strike on 13 May, which the Hamas-run civil defence agency said killed 28 people and injured dozens. Sinwar's body was found alongside that of Mohammad Sabaneh, the commander of Hamas's Rafah Brigade, the IDF said. It added that "several items belonging to Sinwar and Sabaneh were located, along with additional intelligence findings that were transferred for further investigation". The IDF said other bodies were found, which it was looking to identify. On Sunday, the IDF took a small group of foreign journalists into Gaza to Khan Younis to show them the tunnel. It also published video of the entrance to the tunnel, which is just in front of the European Hospital. The footage shows a long, narrow underground corridor that leads to several rooms. IDF spokesperson Brig Gen Effie Defrin said that in one of the rooms they found the Sinwar's body. "This is another example of the cynical use by Hamas, using civilians as human shields, using civilian infrastructure, hospitals, again and again," he said. Israel is accused of the gravest war crimes - how governments respond could haunt them for years to come What we know about killings near US-Israeli backed Gaza aid site Who was the Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar? Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using hospitals as hiding places for weapons and command centres, which the group denies. The IDF has mounted sieges and attacks on hospitals in Gaza, or ordered their evacuation, leaving the territory's health system on the verge of total collapse. Such attacks have caused widespread international concern, as many hospitals and medical facilities have been put out of action - and the lives of patients and staff put at risk. In a statement after an Israeli strike on al-Ahli hospital in April, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed his deep alarm and declared that, under international humanitarian law, the "wounded and sick, medical personnel and medical facilities, including hospitals, must be respected and protected". Hospital staff in Gaza have also repeatedly denied that Hamas is using their facilities as a base. The IDF will point to this latest footage as vindication of its claims and its military strategy. As with so much in Gaza, however, full independent verification is not possible. Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023 , in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. At least 54,880 people have been killed in Gaza since, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. The renewed fighting in Gaza comes following the collapse of a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal a few months ago. Since then, Israel has restated its aim to destroy Hamas and recover the hostages, of whom 54 remain in captivity and 23 are thought to still be alive. Mohammed Sinwar joined Hamas shortly after its founding in the late 1980s and became a member of the group's military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades. He rose through the ranks and by 2005 he was commander of the Khan Younis Brigade. Sinwar was also reported to have been close to another of Hamas's previous military chiefs, Mohammed Deif, and had been involved in the planning of the 7 October attack. His brother and predecessor, Yahya Sinwar - believed to be the one of the masterminds behind the 7 October attack - was killed by Israeli troops last October. Israel PM says Hamas's Gaza chief Mohammed Sinwar has been killed Israeli air strike on hospital kills 28 people in Gaza, civil defence says
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Relatives distraught over Gazan killed while trying to get aid
STORY: :: A Gaza family mourns a father-of-five who they say is another casualty of Israeli fire near aid distribution sites :: June 8, 2025 :: Israel's military said its troops had fired warning shots at people moving towards soldiers :: Khan Younis, Gaza 'He was going to get food for his children and himself, to help them live, feed them because they don't have a pinch of flour at home. They can't find food to eat. He was going to get aid to sustain his family. He was walking there, on his way. He did not reach the aid site. He got a bullet and was martyred.' The man's his wife said he was fatally shot in the head, while his aunt said he was on the way to get food for his family, saying "they don't have a pinch of flour at home". It was the latest bout of shooting near aid distribution points in Gaza's south since a controversial Israeli- and U.S.-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, began handing out aid late last month. Israel's military said in a statement that troops had opened fire in southern Gaza, but said that it had directed warning shots at a group that was moving towards soldiers and deemed a threat to them. The military acknowledged reports of injuries but did not specify how many people it believed had been hurt or shot.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Israeli military recovers body of elusive Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar
The Israeli military recovered the body of de facto Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar in a tunnel underneath the European Hospital in southern Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Sunday. The IDF said it made the announcement after the body went through an identification process. Sinwar is the younger brother of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by the Israeli military in southern Gaza in October. His death marks the latest in a string of assassinations that have dealt a serious blow to the group's top brass but are yet to break its grip on power in the besieged enclave. The elusive Sinwar was targeted in a massive airstrike on the hospital in Khan Younis on May 13, 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 center' in underground infrastructure at the hospital. But it took more than two weeks for Israel to say that it had definitively killed Sinwar in the strike. 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,' Netanyahu 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. This is a developing story and will be updated.
