The IDF has bolstered the 98 Division’s forces operating in the Khan Yunis area with an additional brigade and engineering units.
The objective is to reach a tunnel where Israeli intelligence believes Hamas’s military leadership is hiding.
The political echelon is urging the IDF and Shin Bet to expedite the operation, recognizing the potential decisive impact on the military campaign.
Chief of Staff Hertzi Halevi’s comparison of Yahya Sinwar to Osama bin Laden has been noted, but security officials highlight key differences. Unlike Bin Laden, Sinwar is in the Gaza Strip, making his elimination more feasible within a shorter timeframe.
Sources close to Hamas claim that Sinwar has prepared a plan to escape to Egypt through tunnels in the Rafah area.
Muhammad Sinwar, his brother and tunnel designer, is reportedly tasked with executing the plan.
The group planning to escape includes Yahya Sinwar, Muhammad Sinwar, Muhammad Def, and Marwan Issa.
Operatives of Hamas’s military wing in the Sinai Peninsula have allegedly prepared a hiding place for the Hamas military leadership in coordination with ISIS.
The IDF is urged to gain control of the “Philadelphia Corridor” to prevent the escape through smuggling tunnels to Sinai.
Recent leaks from the Israeli security system suggest proximity to capturing Hamas’s military leadership.
It implies that Muhammad Def, despite previous reports of a severe medical condition, is in good health.
Recognizing the strategic importance of the “Philadelphia Corridor” on the Gaza-Egypt border, the IDF must act swiftly to secure control. The corridor contains numerous smuggling tunnels through which Hamas’s leadership could potentially escape to the Sinai Peninsula.
Israel expresses skepticism about relying on Egypt to prevent the escape of Hamas’s military leadership into Sinai and emphasizes the need for direct control over the corridor.
The situation remains dynamic, with the IDF and Shin Bet closely monitoring developments in the pursuit of Hamas’s military elite.
