Israel announced on Wednesday that its military had killed Mohammed Sinwar, Hamas’s presumed leader in Gaza and brother of Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind behind the October 2023 attacks that triggered the ongoing Gaza war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told parliament, “We drove the terrorists out of our territory, entered the Gaza Strip with force, eliminated tens of thousands of terrorists, and eliminated Mohammed Sinwar.”
Israeli media reported that Sinwar was targeted in airstrikes in southern Gaza earlier in May. Yahya Sinwar was killed in October 2024.
The announcement coincided with sharp criticism from the United Nations of a US- and Israeli-supported aid system in Gaza, after dozens were injured during chaotic scenes at a food distribution site.
Israel’s military denied firing on the crowds. UN officials reported that 47 people were injured and at least one person died when thousands of desperate Palestinians surged into a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid site on Tuesday.
Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Human Rights Office in the Palestinian territories, said most injuries were caused by Israeli gunfire.
Military spokesperson Colonel Olivier Rafowicz rejected the claim, stating that Israeli forces fired warning shots into the air, away from the crowd at the Rafah distribution centre.
GHF also denied that its staff fired on the crowds, adding that its operations were continuing and a new site had opened “without incident.” The organisation said it distributed eight truckloads of aid and more than 840,000 meals on Wednesday.
UN envoy for the Middle East, Sigrid Kaag, addressed the Security Council, saying, “The people of Gaza deserve more than survival. Death is their companion. It’s not life, it’s not hope.”
As the war reached its 600th day, Netanyahu praised the military’s achievements: “In 600 days of the ‘War of Revival’, we have indeed changed the face of the Middle East.”
However, residents in Gaza expressed despair. “Six hundred days have passed and nothing has changed,” said 40-year-old Bassam Daloul. “Even hoping for a ceasefire feels like a dream and a nightmare.”
In Tel Aviv, families of hostages held since the October 7 attack held demonstrations, demanding a ceasefire and safe return of their loved ones.
Arbel Yehud, a former hostage freed in January, said, “When Israel blocks deals, it does so at the expense of the hostages. It endangers their lives.”
UN officials continued to criticise GHF, with Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, calling the group’s operations “a waste of resources and a distraction from atrocities.”
Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that Israeli strikes killed 16 people on Wednesday. In southern Gaza, Heba Jabr, a 29-year-old mother of two, said, “Dying by bombing is better than dying of hunger while unable to feed your children.”
Israel had imposed a complete blockade on Gaza for over two months before easing restrictions slightly last week.
As ceasefire talks remain deadlocked, Israeli forces intensified their offensive in Gaza earlier this month. Demonstrators across Tel Aviv marked 600 days since the war began, urging an end to the conflict.
According to official figures cited by AFP, 1,218 people were killed in Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, mostly civilians. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza reported the war’s death toll has reached 54,084, also mostly civilians, with 3,924 of those deaths occurring since the ceasefire ended on 18 March.