IDF troops find body thought to be slain Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar; terrorist threats prevent Gaza aid distribution

With troops of the Israel Defense Forces continuing to advance in several locations in the Gaza Strip over the weekend, the military announced on Saturday that the bodies of several Hamas terrorists were discovered in Khan Younis.

The IDF is currently investigating whether one of the bodies belongs to Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar, who was the target of an assassination attempt on May 13.

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu already stated that Sinwar was killed, this development could be the final confirmation that one of the chief architects of the Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel – together with his brother and Hamas’ top leader, Yahya Sinwar – has been eliminated.

⭕️UNCOVERED: An underground tunnel route beneath the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza.

In a special, targeted operation, IDF soldiers located an underground tunnel route containing numerous findings such as command and control rooms, weapons, and additional intelligence… pic.twitter.com/7bPM5ozHN8

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 7, 2025

The body thought to be Mohammed Sinwar's was found along with some 10 others in an underground complex “directly beneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis.” The complex contained command and control rooms, weapons, and additional intelligence findings, according to the IDF.

In another special operation in Rafah on Friday, IDF commandos recovered the body of Nattapong Pinta, a Thai national who was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and murdered while in captivity.

The Israeli army has so far recovered 41 bodies and rescued eight living hostages from captivity in Gaza. Fifty-five hostages remain, with 20 believed to be alive.

Pinta was held in Gaza by terrorists from the Mujahideen Brigade – the same faction responsible for kidnapping the Bibas family and abducting Gadi Haggai and Judith Weinstein, whose bodies were recovered last week.

On Saturday, the Mujahideen group announced that its leader, Mahmoud Kaheel, was killed in an Israeli airstrike, along with his family.

The IDF also announced that it had conducted a targeted strike against several Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) operatives who, according to the military, were posing as journalists while operating from a command and control center located in the courtyard of Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City.

🔴ELIMINATED: Two Islamic Jihad terrorists who posed as journalists and operated from a command center in the courtyard of the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza.

The terrorists exploited the hospital to plan and execute terror activities against Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers.… pic.twitter.com/DbVxCHtQL0

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 7, 2025

Palestinian media named the four killed terrorists as Suleiman Hajaj, Samir al-Rifai, Ismail Badah, and Ahmed Qaljah. The IDF said Hajaj was a deputy commander of a PIJ engineering cell and that Rifai was a PIJ member, but didn’t confirm the identities of the other two individuals.

On the ground, Israeli troops continued to advance on the remaining Hamas strongholds across the enclave and reportedly approached the location where Matan Zangauker is being held captive.

This triggered an unusual statement by the terror group, which said that Israeli troops were “besieging” the area, and (the terror group) threatened to execute Zangauker.

“We affirm that the enemy will not be able to recover him alive. We have preserved his life for 20 months; if this prisoner is killed during an attempt to free him, the occupation army will be the one responsible for his death,” said Hamas spokesman Abu Ubaida, in a rare appearance.

Hamas also released a new photo of Zangauker, who is believed to be seriously ill. The image shows him with an IV drip visible in the background.

Hamas terrorists also continued their efforts to derail the new aid distribution mechanism, which was set up to prevent aid from reaching the terrorists.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which runs the new distribution, announced on Saturday that threats from Hamas against its workers forced it to cancel the distributions for that day.

GHF expects and demands statements of condemnation from the world in response to these threats, which only further hurt Gazans.

You don’t have to agree with our approach to delivering aid to condemn this profane attempt to keep Gazans from getting food.

June 7 Statement ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/b0I0YN3m5M

— Rev. Johnnie Moore ن (@JohnnieM) June 7, 2025

A GHF spokesperson explained that drivers and local Palestinian staff received explicit threats, adding, “Hamas is the reason hundreds of thousands of hungry Gazans were not fed today.”

“The group issued direct threats against GHF operations. These threats made it impossible to proceed today without putting innocent lives at risk,” the GHF added.

Nevertheless, GHF, headed by Evangelical Rev. Johnnie Moore, emphasized that it won’t be deterred from delivering aid.

“We are actively adapting our operations to overcome these threats and fully intend to resume distributions without delay.”