Hamas leader's body found as peace talks with Israel pick back up
1 of 3 | Smoke rises from inside the Gaza Strip as seen near an Israeli field of sunflowers in full bloom inside southern Israel on Sunday. Photo by Jim Hollander/UPI | License Photo
May 18 (UPI) -- Israel reported Sunday it found the body of Hamas' de facto leader, Muhammad Sinwar, in a tunnel in Khan Younis after he was killed in a series of airstrikes last week.
At least 100 people have been killed in the latest series of airstrikes, and Sinwar's body was found as Hamas has offered to release nine hostages in exchange for a 60-day military stand down in an effort to slow down the fighting in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
Sinwar was the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, the former Hamas leader in Gaza. Another brother, Zakaria Sinwar, was killed in an airstroke Saturday night, other reports claimed. It's the third Sinwar brother to be killed in the ongoing battle.
Israeli forces overtook a hospital in northern Gaza Saturday as an offensive to seize territory on the Gaza Strip continues, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Forces seized the Indonesian hospital in Beit Lahia, preventing patients, staff and medical supplies from arriving, the ministry said on Sunday, according to the BBC, leaving the medical facility inoperable.
Hamas made its hostage release offer on Saturday following a new round of peace negotiations in Qatar. Officials said there could also be a larger deal in the works to end the fighting that would include a Hamas withdrawal.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
'Unite for Vets' rally in Washington, D.C., protests cuts in benefits
June 6 (UPI) -- Several thousand veterans converged on the National Mall on Friday to rally against proposed cuts to Veterans Affairs services, among 200 events nationwide. Veterans, military families and others participated in the Unite for Veterans, Unite for America Rally on the 81st anniversary of D-Day, which was the Allies' amphibious invasion of German-occupied France. Veteran-led protests took place at 16 state capitol buildings and more than 100 other places across 43 states. "We are coming together to defend the benefits, jobs and dignity that every generation of veterans has earned through sacrifice," Unite for Veterans said on its website. "Veteran jobs, healthcare, and essential VA services are under attack. We will not stand by." Speakers in Washington included Democrats with military backgrounds: Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, former Rep. Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania and California Rep. Derek Tran. There were signs against President Donald Trump, VA Secretary Doug Collins and Elon Musk, the multi-billionaire who ran the Department of Government Efficiency. They said those leaders are betraying the country's promises to troops. "Are you tired of being thanked for our service in the public and stabbed in our back in private?" Army veteran Everett Kelly, the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, asked the crowd. "For years, politicians on both sides of the aisle have campaigned on their support of veterans, but once they get into office, they cut our benefits, our services. They take every opportunity to privatize our health care." The Trump administration plans to cut 83,000 VA staffers and shift more money from the federal health care system to private-sector clinics. The Department of Veterans Affairs employs approximately 482,000 people, including 500,000 workers at 170 hospitals and 1,200 local clinics in the nation's largest health care system. In all, there are 15.8 million veterans, which represents 6.1% of the civilian population 18 years and older. VA officials said the event was misguided. "Anyone who says VA is cutting healthcare and benefits is not being honest," VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz in a statement to Navy Times. "The Biden Administration failed to address nearly all of VA's most serious problems, including rising health care wait times, benefits backlogs, and major issues with survivor benefits. Under President Trump and Secretary Collins, VA is fixing these problems and making major improvements." The event was modeled after the Bonus Army protests of the 1930s, when veterans who served in World War I gathered in the nation's capital to demand extra pay denied after leaving the service. Irma Westmoreland, a registered nurse working at a VA hospital and the secretary-treasurer of National Nurses United, told the crowd in Washington: "It's important for every person to keep their job, from the engineering staff to the housekeeper to the dietary staff. When cuts are made, the nursing and medical staff will have to pick up all their work that needs to be done."
UPI
6 hours ago
- UPI
'Unite for Vets' rally in Washington, D.C., protests cuts in benefits
June 6 (UPI) -- Several thousand veterans converged on the National Mall on Friday to rally against proposed cuts to Veterans Affairs services, among 200 events nationwide. Veterans, military families and others participated in the Unite for Veterans, Unite for America Rally on the 81st anniversary of D-Day, which was the Allies' amphibious invasion of German-occupied France. Veteran-led protests took place at 16 state capitol buildings and more than 100 other places across 43 states. "We are coming together to defend the benefits, jobs and dignity that every generation of veterans has earned through sacrifice," Unite for Veterans said on its website. "Veteran jobs, healthcare, and essential VA services are under attack. We will not stand by." Speakers in Washington included Democrats with military backgrounds: Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, former Rep. Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania and California Rep. Derek Tran. There were signs against President Donald Trump, VA Secretary Doug Collins and Elon Musk, the multi-billionaire who ran the Department of Government Efficiency. They said those leaders are betraying the country's promises to troops. "Are you tired of being thanked for our service in the public and stabbed in our back in private?" Army veteran Everett Kelly, the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, asked the crowd. "For years, politicians on both sides of the aisle have campaigned on their support of veterans, but once they get into office, they cut our benefits, our services. They take every opportunity to privatize our health care." The Trump administration plans to cut 83,000 VA staffers and shift more money from the federal health care system to private-sector clinics. The Department of Veterans Affairs employs approximately 482,000 people, including 500,000 workers at 170 hospitals and 1,200 local clinics in the nation's largest health care system. In all, there are 15.8 million veterans, which represents 6.1% of the civilian population 18 years and older. VA officials said the event was misguided. "Anyone who says VA is cutting healthcare and benefits is not being honest," VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz in a statement to Navy Times. "The Biden Administration failed to address nearly all of VA's most serious problems, including rising health care wait times, benefits backlogs, and major issues with survivor benefits. Under President Trump and Secretary Collins, VA is fixing these problems and making major improvements." The event was modeled after the Bonus Army protests of the 1930s, when veterans who served in World War I gathered in the nation's capital to demand extra pay denied after leaving the service. Irma Westmoreland, a registered nurse working at a VA hospital and the secretary-treasurer of National Nurses United, told the crowd in Washington: "It's important for every person to keep their job, from the engineering staff to the housekeeper to the dietary staff. When cuts are made, the nursing and medical staff will have to pick up all their work that needs to be done."
6 hours ago
Israel arming Gaza militias fighting Hamas, Netanyahu says
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed Israel is arming militias in southern Gaza that are opposed to Hamas. Netanyahu admitted to the arrangement after Israeli politician Avigdor Lieberman, formerly the country's deputy prime minister and minister of defense, told the press about it on Thursday. "What did Lieberman leak? That on the recommendation of security officials we launched groups that oppose Hamas?" Netanyahu said during a press availability. "What is wrong with this? It's only good. it saves the lives of Israeli soldiers. But the publication of this is only good for Hamas." Netanyahu has faced internal criticism in Israel for the move, including from Lieberman, a long-time political rival. Aid distribution on indefinite pause The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation closed its aid distribution sites on Friday, without giving a date on when they would reopen, as Palestinians in Gaza remain at risk of extreme starvation and famine, the United Nations and other aid groups have warned. The GHF has previously paused aid delivery in Gaza earlier this week after several people died and were injured trying to reach the sites to obtain food, according to eyewitness reports on the ground, international aid organizations working in Gaza and the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. The majority of victims suffered gunshot wounds, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Israel Defense Forces acknowledged they "carried out warning fire approximately half a kilometer from the aid distribution center, targeting a few individuals who were approaching in a way that posed a security threat," in a video statement by IDF spokesperson Effie Defrin. The GHF, a joint operation by the U.S. and Israel, is now the only major organization delivering aid in the war-torn Gaza Strip. The U.N. has said Aid distribution resumed at two sites on Thursday before being put on hold again Friday. The GHF asked people to stay away from the distribution sites for their "safety," it said in a post on social media on Friday. This comes after the Israeli government imposed an 11-week blockade on all humanitarian aid entering Gaza. The Israeli government said the blockade was put in place to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages being held in Gaza. Food distribution centers in southern Gaza have been overrun with thousands and thousands of Palestinians in search of food and medicine after the partial lifting of the Israeli blockade. The International Committee of the Red Cross said it has responded to five mass casualty incidents, four of which occurred in the last 96 hours alone in a statement Tuesday.
