Key Points
- Israel announced the death of Mohammed Sinwar, presumed to have been the Hamas leader in Gaza.
- Over 54,000 Palestinians have been reportedly killed after 600 days of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
- Meanwhile, the UN condemned a new US- and Israeli-backed aid system following chaotic and violent scenes in Rafah.
Israel said Wednesday its military killed Mohammed Sinwar, Hamas’s presumed Gaza leader and the brother of Yahya, who helped organise the October 2023 attacks that sparked the recent escalation of fighting in Gaza.
On the 600th day of the Hamas-Israel war, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the Gaza offensive, saying it had killed tens of thousands of militants, including Mohammed Sinwar — nicknamed “the shadow”.
The Gaza health ministry said Wednesday at least 3,924 people had been killed in the territory since Israel broke the ceasefire on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 54,084, mostly civilians.
Israeli media said Sinwar was targeted by strikes in southern Gaza earlier this month. His brother Yahya was killed in October 2024.
What about latest aid efforts to help the hungry in Gaza?
The UN condemned a US and Israeli-backed aid system in Gaza after dozens were hurt the day before in chaotic scenes at a food distribution site.
On Wednesday, AFP footage showed crowds of Palestinians breaking into a UN World Food Programme warehouse at Deir el-Balah in central Gaza and taking food as gunshots rang out.
The WFP posted on X that “hungry people” raided the warehouse in search of food supplies that were pre-positioned for distribution.
The aid situation has deteriorated during a hunger crisis, drawing criticism towards the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) for circumventing the established UN-led system.
The UN said 47 people were injured Tuesday when thousands of Palestinians rushed a GHF site. A Palestinian medical source reported at least one death.
Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Human Rights Office in the Palestinian territories, said most injuries came from Israeli gunfire.
The military rejected this. A spokesman said soldiers “fired warning shots into the air”, not towards people.
GHF also denied crowds were shot while waiting for aid and said operations continue, with a new site opened “without incident” and more planned.
The UN has criticised the GHF, which faces accusations of failing humanitarian principles.
“I believe it is a waste of resources and a distraction from atrocities,” said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
“Meanwhile, the clock is ticking towards famine, so humanitarian (work) must be allowed to do its life-saving work now,” he said.
The foundation’s executive director Jake Wood resigned this week, citing concerns over its independence and adherence to “humanitarian principles”.
Gazans accused the US-backed system of causing confusion and unfair access.
“All the aid boxes were torn apart and people just took whatever they wanted. This is all I could find: five bags of chickpeas and five kilos of rice,” said Qasim Shalouf in Khan Younis.
With two of its four sites fully operational, GHF claims it distributed eight trucks of aid and more than 840,000 meals on Wednesday.
