Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday announced that the country’s military has killed Mohammed Sinwar, Hamas’s presumed leader in Gaza and brother of Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind behind the October 2023 attacks that sparked the Gaza war.
Netanyahu told parliament, “We drove the terrorists out of our territory, entered the Gaza Strip with force, eliminated tens of thousands of terrorists, eliminated… Mohammed Sinwar.”
The announcement came as the United Nations condemned a U.S. and Israeli-backed aid system in Gaza after dozens of people were hurt in chaotic scenes at a food distribution site.
The UN said 47 people were injured, and a Palestinian medical source reported at least one death. Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Human Rights Office in the Palestinian territories, said most had been hurt by Israeli gunfire.
However, the Israeli military denied this, saying its soldiers fired warning shots into the air, not towards the people.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) denied crowds were shot while waiting for aid and said its operations were continuing.
The UN envoy for the Middle East Sigrid Kaag told the Security Council that Palestinians living in Gaza “deserve more than survival.”
She said, “Since the resumption of hostilities in Gaza, the already horrific existence of civilians has only sunk further into the abyss. The people of Gaza deserve more than survival. They deserve a future.”
As the war entered its 600th day, Netanyahu hailed the milestone, saying, “In 600 days of the ‘War of Revival’, we have indeed changed the face of the Middle East.”
However, Gazans expressed despair, with one saying, “600 days have passed and nothing has changed.
”Death continues, and Israeli bombing does not stop.” In Israel, hundreds gathered in Tel Aviv to call for a ceasefire and the return of hostages held in Gaza since the October 7 attack.
The UN has repeatedly criticised the GHF, accusing it of failing to fulfill humanitarian principles.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said, “I believe it is a waste of resources and a distraction from atrocities.”
Meanwhile, Gazans struggled to find food, with one mother saying, “Dying by bombing is much better than dying from the humiliation of hunger and being unable to provide bread and water for your children.”
