Benjamin Netanyahu said in a press conference Wednesday that Israel may have killed Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar.
Sinwar is currently the head of the Gaza Strip terrorist group Hamas. He took over from his brother Yahya Sinwar in October 2024 after being killed by Israeli troops in southern Gaza.
“We eliminated thousands of terrorists,” Netanyahu said, adding that we eliminated the leaders of the murderer Deif, Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, and it seems that we eliminated Mohammed Sinwar, too.”
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Netanyahu spoke of ongoing military operations in Gaza, saying the strip will be under Israeli control at the end of the war.
“Our forces are occupying more and more territory in Gaza. By the end of this move, all areas in the strip will be under Israeli security control,” he said.
Netanyahu said: “I am ready to end the war with clear conditions to ensure Israel’s security – all hostages return home, Hamas has put down his weapons, its leadership has been overthrown, Gaza has been completely demilitarized, and Trump’s plan has been implemented.”
He added: “Anyone who calls on us to stop the war before we achieve these goals is calling on us to put Hamas in power.”
Photo: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a press conference in Jerusalem on May 21, 2025. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool via AP)
On Sunday, the IDF announced the start of a new “wide-scale ground operation” in Gaza, known as the “chariot of Operation Gideon”.
The news comes as IDF intensifies in Gaza, including a strike by Hamas leaders near Khan Yunis in southern Gaza on May 13.
“More than 670 Hamas terrorist targets” were hit and “didn’t eliminate dozens of terrorists,” the IDF said in a statement.
More: IDF announces the start of “Gideon’s Chariot” Gaza ground attack
The statement added that IDF forces “demolished the terrorist infrastructure sites above and below the ground and are currently being deployed at critical locations in Gaza.”
An IDF spokesman said at the time that Netanyahu’s safety cabinet approved the May 5 action plan. It will include “wide attacks, including displacement of most populations in the Gaza Strip”.
Israel Defense Minister Israel Katz said on May 7 that Israeli forces plan to stay in Gaza after the operation is completed.
Israel’s Netanyahu said it “looks” that Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar originally appeared on abcnews.go.com.
