Israel closing in on Hamas leader hiding in Gaza, but wary of killing him

The alleged mastermind of the October 7 attacks, Yehiya Sinwar, the commander of Hamas, is said to be hidden in a maze-like system of tunnels under southern Gaza, according to the Israeli military.

However, a human shield of captives surrounds him, obstructing Israel’s attempts to destroy the terrorist group and terminate the more than four-month-long conflict. This shield is meant to prevent an operation to apprehend or kill him.

According to interviews with current and past Israeli officials, the Israeli operation in Gaza cannot end until Sinwar is either killed, detained, or removed from his role as head of the group. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, “We will kill the Hamas leadership,” underscoring the importance of removing the terrorist leader and the extent to which the war depends on the mission’s success. The war cannot be ended before then.

According to Israeli, American, and other Western intelligence and security officials who described the difficult search for Israel’s most-wanted man, locating Sinwar may not be as difficult tactically or politically as carrying out a military operation to neutralize him without also killing or injuring many of the hostages thought to be nearby. Many of them discussed critical information and operations under the condition of anonymity.

More from World

'We are aware': US State Department tells Firstpost on Munir's nuclear threats 'Quoting fired losers': Trump slams media for 'very unfair' coverage ahead of Putin meeting

After his family was driven from the Palestinian village of Majdal, which is now Ashkelon, following Israel’s 1948 battle for independence, Sinwar is thought to be bunkered in the maze-like tunnels beneath Khan Younis, the city in southern Gaza where he was born in 1962. According to U.S. authorities, they agree with the Israeli conclusion that Sinwar has surrounded himself with captives, a sort of insurance policy, and is hiding someplace beneath his hometown.

More than 250 Israeli troops and civilians were abducted by Hamas on October 7 and taken into Gaza, according to official reports. Over a hundred have been issued by Hamas. There are an estimated 130 hostages still held captive, which number includes the bodies of roughly 20 Israeli authorities determined have died. About half a dozen of the remaining hostages are Americans.

Impact Shorts

View All

'We are aware': US State Department tells Firstpost on Munir's nuclear threats

Trump to meet one-on-one with Putin in Alaska — a repeat of infamous Helsinki summit

The Israeli military and security services have been mapping the extensive network of tunnels beneath Gaza for months in an attempt to identify Sinwar and decipher crucial spots in the network. The laborious task is carried out by soldiers stationed inside the tunnels; they have discovered data that Hamas fighters left behind, material that has improved our understanding of the intricate network of tunnels below ground.

According to sources, soldiers have found Hamas administration files, computers, and phone directories that point to various “offices” in the network as they make their way down the tunnels and defuse booby traps.

According to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Israeli forces have also found information that suggests Sinwar might have been one step ahead of them, he stated earlier this month. Israeli media outlets claim that soldiers had discovered Sinwar’s personal belongings, including his handwritten messages and possibly even his toothbrush.

Some officials have conjectured in recent days that Sinwar might have relocated a short distance to Rafah, which is located near the Egyptian border. Publicly, Israeli officials have refuted press reports that Sinwar crossed the border.

The information that Israeli forces discovered underground, when combined with the questioning of detained Hamas fighters, has allowed them to have a better understanding of the tunnel routes. According to officials with knowledge of the activity, U.S. intelligence analysts are contributing advanced analytic capabilities that fuse information pieces and are assisting with some of that tunnel mapping.

But it takes a lot of time and resources to search, clear, and shut down the vast network, which some experts estimate to stretch as long as 450 miles. It takes a lot of explosives to destroy even small sections of tunnel. According to officials, Israeli forces have searched for nodes that, if destroyed, could effectively stop other tunnels that branch off of them from functioning.

According to officials, data from recovered computer hard drives, information from interrogations, and intercepted communications have all been analyzed with assistance from U.S. intelligence agencies.

That cooperation could aid in the hunt for Sinwar. However, according to American and Israeli sources, there are no American intelligence officers stationed in Gaza, and the Americans are not helping Israel in its ongoing efforts to track down and destroy the infrastructure and encampments of regular Hamas combatants. Israel fought the war without American assistance, according to a former Mossad officer with deep ties to the current leadership.

Along with his Israeli counterpart, Mossad leader David Barnea, CIA Director William J. Burns has assumed a key role in the negotiations for the captive release. For a long time, the two agencies have exchanged intelligence about terrorist organizations, Iran, and other topics relevant to their security.

There is still hope in the negotiations for a six-week ceasefire and the release of civilian hostages, according to U.S. and Israeli officials.

Israel has refused to comply with Hamas requests that at least 500 truckloads of humanitarian aid be delivered to Gaza every day and that a large number of Palestinian detainees be released in return for hostages. Israel’s military council decided on Saturday to send a delegation to the negotiations, which are scheduled to start on Monday, after its negotiators briefed them on the Paris discussions.

On February 13, the Israel Defense Forces released what they claimed to be security camera footage of Sinwar inside a tunnel beneath Khan Younis, the city where authorities believe Sinwar is now held. This brought renewed attention to Sinwar’s whereabouts and his fate. According to a military official, the film, which the IDF had recently acquired from a Hamas camera, showed Sinwar three days after the Hamas attack in October strolling with his wife, kids, and brother through a dimly lighted tunnel on their way to a hiding place.

Israelis were given a unique, close-up view of the reclusive leader’s personal life through the video. Furthermore, it was yet another clue that the Israeli military might be getting closer to where he is.

It’s debatable whether Sinwar can lead troops while he hides underground. According to the senior Israeli official, Sinwar was still deciding what to do and how to wage the war. But now that Sinwar is in hiding, Gallant has openly questioned how much authority he actually has over his men.

Gallant and other officials have stated that the reason hostage talks have not moved forward faster is that Hamas’s political leadership outside of Israel takes a long time to communicate with Sinwar and his soldiers in Gaza.

For Israel, killing Sinwar would represent a significant strategic and symbolic win. However, several experts doubt that the administration will get any closer to Netanyahu’s declared aim of completely dismantling Hamas—an aim that detractors claim is impossible and ill-defined.