IDF releases video of Yahya Sinwar and family in tunnel under Khan Younis
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
The IDF released Tuesday evening a video showing Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar in which he was seen three days after the outbreak of the Gaza war in a tunnel under Khan Younis with his wife and children.
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Since the start of the ground operation in Gaza, the IDF has obtained several videos of the leader of the terrorist organization in Gaza, in which he is seen inside the tunnels built by Hamas. As the Israeli delegation returns from negotiations in Cairo on the release of the hostages and a temporary cease-fire in Gaza, the security establishment believes that the release of the video will increase the pressure on Hamas. In Israel, there was debate throughout the day whether to release the video, and the issue even reached Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's desk - who approved the release.
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Video released by IDF shows Sinwar and his family in a tunnel under Khan Younis
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
In the video, Sinwar does not appear to be injured, as has been believed.
At the beginning of his remarks Tuesday evening, IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Daniel Hagari said that the IDF arrested in Khan Younis relatives of senior Hamas officials, including those from Sinwar's entourage. "Among those arrested is the father of the Brigadier General of Khan Younis. They have provided us with a lot of intelligence in the Shin Bet investigations," he said.
Hagari presented documentation from the tunnels under Khan Younis, which he says are part of a "branching underground tunnel network of dozens of kilometers." When he showed the video of Sinwar next to a woman and children, Hagari said: "We arrived at the compound where he hid underground, while the war was going on above him. They have good conditions with food, and also a lot of cash."
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Yahya Sinwar seen carrying a briefcase in the tunnel under Khan Younis
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
In recent days, reports in Israel have said that Sinwar is cut off from the Hamas leadership outside the Gaza Strip, and this indicates that he did not participate in writing the proposal that the terrorist organization submitted to mediators regarding the a hostage release deal.
Sinwar, according to senior officials in Israel, runs "from cave to cave all the time like a mouse. He is terrified and moves from place to place in a frenzy. The only thing that can bring about a deal is the real fear that he could be eliminated at any second, and only a deal will save him."
The sources claimed that "if there is a chance for a deal, it is only because of the military pressure, that the IDF is sitting on Sinwar's neck, and that in another second he will not be with us and they will kill him. He has no other reason. He does not need fuel, medicine and food. He knows that in a minute he will be eliminated with his top team."
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Photo of Mohammad Deif indicates he is not in as bad a shape as the IDF thought
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
This is not the first time that the IDF's ground operation in the Gaza Strip has resulted in obtaining intelligence materials on senior Hamas officials. For example, two different photos of the head of Hamas' military wing, Mohammad Deif, were published, in which his condition appears to be better than previously thought in Israel.
First published: 18:04, 02.13.24