The Israeli military said on Sunday that it had located and identified the body of Mohammed Sinwar, presumed leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, three weeks after he was said to have been killed in an air strike.
“In a targeted operation of the IDF [military] … and following the completion of an identification process, it is now confirmed that the body of Mohammed Sinwar was located in the underground tunnel route beneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis,” the army said in a statement.
The army said Sinwar was “eliminated”, along with several other members of the militant group, on May 13.
“During searches in the underground tunnel route, several items belonging to Sinwar … were located, along with additional intelligence findings that were transferred for further investigation,” the military said.
Army spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin told journalists who were escorted by Israeli forces to the site on Sunday that Sinwar’s body was found “underneath the hospital, right under the emergency room, a compound, a few rooms”.
He added that they had confirmed with “DNA checks and other checks” that the body was indeed Mohammed Sinwar’s.