GAZA CITY, Palestine / ISTANBUL

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed Sunday that the army likely killed Mohammed Sinwar, a Hamas commander and the brother of slain Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar.

“All indications show that Sinwar was killed,” Katz said at a meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Security Committee.

"There is no official confirmation yet from the Israeli army, but indications show that Sinwar had been eliminated,” he added.

The Israeli public broadcaster KAN earlier reported that Sinwar’s body was found in an underground tunnel in the southern city of Khan Younis.

KAN said the bodies of 10 of his aides were also found with him.

Israeli media claimed that Sinwar and his aide were killed in Israeli airstrikes near the European Hospital in Khan Younis on Tuesday.

However, the Israeli daily Maariv, citing an unnamed military source, denied reports that Sinwar’s body had been found in a tunnel.

“Israel can’t say for sure whether Mohammed Sinwar was killed or succeeded in escaping the tunnel before the shelling,” the source said.

There was no immediate Hamas comment on the Israeli claim.

Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza, was killed by Israeli army forces in southern Gaza on Oct. 16, 2024.

The Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 53,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.