On Tuesday, the IDF struck the European Hospital in eastern Khan Younes in a targeted operation aimed at Mohammed Sinwar, brother of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. The hospital, widely believed to be a Hamas stronghold, reportedly housed over 100 terrorists closely affiliated with Sinwar. The attack marked a significant escalation in the IDF’s campaign against the Khan Younes Brigade—Hamas’s most entrenched and negotiation-resistant unit.
Since October 2024, following the killing of Muhammad Deif in July and the death of his brother, Yahya Sinwar, Muhammed Sinwar has been regarded as the head of Hamas’s military wing in the Gaza Strip and the most senior operative remaining in the enclave. Israel has made multiple attempts to eliminate him.
The negotiations that began Tuesday night in Doha, Qatar, for the release of the hostages could not have started under more favorable conditions than the (presumably successful) elimination of Muhammed Sinwar—until now the most hardline and confrontational opponent of the Witkoff framework.
Both envoy Steve Witkoff, in a meeting with the families of the hostages, and Prime Minister Netanyahu, speaking to wounded soldiers this week, emphasized the same message: military pressure is the key to securing the release of the hostages and advancing negotiations. It also serves to eliminate the most dangerous remaining leaders of Hamas from the battlefield.
The security establishment remains optimistic about the success of the targeted assassination of senior Hamas figure and arch-terrorist Muhammed Sinwar, though no official confirmation has been received at this stage.
9 heavy bombs were used in the bombing of the European Hospital in Khan Yunis. Those who were not injured by shrapnel or the force of the explosion were presumed to have died from the leakage of toxic gases.
pic.twitter.com/Mom1nbeB1v— sharaf (@ateaf1994) May 13, 2025
A large number of Israeli Air Force jets participated in the strike, dropping one-ton bombs on an underground tunnel compound believed to be sheltering Sinwar. “If the missile strike didn’t kill him, the toxic gases released in the blast will make survival extremely difficult,” said a senior defense official.
According to reports from Gaza, nine bombs were dropped in the area surrounding the European Hospital in Khan Younes during the IDF strike targeting Muhammed Sinwar. The Al-Mayadeen network reported that the death toll from the attack exceeded 20, while Arab media outlets indicated that approximately 70 people were wounded.
Muhammed Sinwar is regarded as an especially extreme figure—arguably even more so than his brother Yahya—and has repeatedly obstructed efforts to reach a hostage deal in the past. However, if he is no longer present in the Gaza Strip, it remains unclear who, if anyone, is left with the authority or willingness to negotiate.
Ultimately, control over the hostages rests with the Hamas leadership inside the Gaza Strip, not with Khalil al-Hayya or the Hamas officials based in Qatar and elsewhere. As a result, there is now significant uncertainty about what comes next.
