The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched an airstrike Tuesday that apparently targeted Muhammad Sinwar, the brother of the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by IDF soldiers in Gaza last October.
Muhammad Sinwar had taken over the leadership of Hamas in Gaza after his brother was killed.
In a statement describing the airstrike, but not naming Sinwar specifically, the IDF said:
A short while ago, the IDF and ISA [Israel Security Agency, or Shin Bet, or Shabak] conducted a precise struck on Hamas terrorists in a command and control center located in an underground terrorist infrastructure site beneath the European hospital in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
The Hamas terrorist organization continues to use hospitals in the Gaza Strip for terrorist activity, demonstrating its cynical and brutal use of the civilian population in the hospital and its surroundings.
Prior to and during the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians and civilian infrastructure, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence.
The IDF and ISA will continue to operate to remove any threat to the citizens of the State of Israel.
Separately, the Times of Israel reported: “The target of the Israeli airstrike at the European Hospital in southern Gaza a short while ago is Hamas leader Muhammad Sinwar, defense sources say.”
Hamas acknowledged several deaths in the airstrike, but did not specifically confirm Sinwar’s death.
It was an eventful day in Israel, with Houthi rebels launching two missiles at Israel from Yemen. The missiles were intercepted by the IDF, but reinforced the message that the Houthis are continuing to target Israel despite President Donald Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire between the U.S. and the Iranian-backed terrorist group.
Reports also emerged suggesting that Israel had, in principle, accepted the idea of a temporary ceasefire in Gaza as part of a potential hostage deal, even though Israel said Monday that no compromise or ceasefire had been offered in return for the release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander.
All of the above events have taken place during Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia and other regional Arab states.
Israel’s airstrike sent a signal that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to continue defending his country against terror, regardless of ongoing diplomatic developments involving the Arab states or Iran.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of Trump 2.0: The Most Dramatic ‘First 100 Days’ in Presidential History, available for Amazon Kindle. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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