Olayiwola Matthew
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister, says Mohammed Sinwar, Hamas’ leader, has been killed by an airstrike.
Netanyahu confirmed the development on Wednesday while briefing the Knesset, Israeli parliament.
“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,” he told lawmakers.
Sinwar was a brother to Yahya, former Hamas leader. He became the group’s de facto leader after the Israeli military killed Yahya last October.
The strike is the latest in a string of killings that have eliminated a handful of Hamas senior officials.
Sinwar was one of Israel’s most wanted targets. He was the focus of an Israeli strike on a hospital in southern Gaza earlier this month.
Last week, Netanyahu said it was likely the Hamas leader had been killed.
Hamas is yet to issue a public response to the development.