Israel Targets Hamas Leader Mohammad Sinwar In Hospital Strike Amid Tensions Over Hostage Release: Report

<p>Israel targeted Hamas leader Mohammad Sinwar in a strike on a hospital in southern Gaza on Tuesday, reports CNN, quoting a senior Israeli official and two sources familiar with the matter. Sinwar became the militant group&rsquo;s de facto leader after the Israeli military killed his brother, Yahya Sinwar, last October.&nbsp;</p>
<p>According to the report, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that it carried out a strike on the European hospital in Khan Younis, targeting &ldquo;Hamas terrorists in a command and control center&rdquo; in underground infrastructure beneath the hospital. The IDF did not identify the target of the strike.</p>
<p data-pm-slice=”1 1 []”>According to Times Of Israel, the Palestinian media have reported four people being killed so far. However, they have not claimed Sinwar was killed in the strike.</p>
<p>News agency CNN, quoting Dr. Saleh Al Hams said that multiple airstrikes hit the yard of the hospital. Some people are buried under the rubble, he said, calling it a &ldquo;catastrophe.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The targeting of Sinwar comes after Hamas released the Israeli American Edan Alexander in what was a goodwill gesture to the United States. Reports suggest that the exchange was negotiated directly with the US President Donald Trump&rsquo;s team, bypassing the Israeli government.</p>
<p>Sinwar was long viewed by Israeli officials as a hardliner within Hamas, especially resistant to any compromise over the release of hostages. According to the Jerusalem Post, Israel may have used a bunker-buster bomb in the Khan Younis strike aimed at penetrating deep underground to reach Sinwar.</p>