The pursuit of Yahya Sinwar and the Hamas military leadership by the IDF and Shin Bet persists within the Khan Yunis tunnels. Israeli security sources assert that ultimately, Israel will succeed in apprehending or neutralizing the military leadership.
Through seized computer drives from Hamas’s military wing within the four strategic tunnels where Yahya Sinwar had been stationed since the conflict’s onset, Israeli security officials have gained extensive knowledge of the vast labyrinth of tunnels in the Khan Yunis and Rafah areas.
With a high degree of certainty, security officials estimate that Egypt will block Yahya Sinwar and the Hamas military leadership from crossing into Egyptian territory through the Rafah tunnels, thus denying them refuge in the Sinai Peninsula.
Such a move, they argue, would significantly harm Egypt’s international standing, potentially branding it as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Yahya Sinwar, responsible for the October 7 massacre near Israeli settlements adjacent to the Gaza Strip, is seen as the architect of the conflict escalation.
Yahya Sinwar’s options for escape are limited, primarily confined to the tunnels in the Rafah area. However, time is running out for him.
Hamas is rattled by the IDF spokesperson’s recent video release, portraying Yahya Sinwar, his family, significant sums of money, and a seized safe within a Khan Yunis tunnel.
The footage sparked outrage among Gaza residents, with social media channels inundated with condemnation of Sinwar’s corruption and abandonment of Gaza residents.
In response, Hamas officials challenge the video’s authenticity, claiming Yahya Sinwar has only one wife and one child, not the three children depicted.
They assert that Sinwar guards his family’s information closely for security reasons, though it’s known his wife, Samar Abu Zamar, is 18 years his junior.
She holds a master’s degree in Islamic studies from Gaza’s Islamic University, and they married in November 2011 after Sinwar’s release from Israeli prison in the “Shalit deal.”
Sources within Gaza suggest Hamas’s claims hold partial truth, acknowledging Sinwar’s marriage to two women, from whom he has nine children, some of whom appear in the IDF spokesperson’s distributed video.
The photographic evidence captured by the IDF in the tunnels, showcasing Hamas military leaders, holds significant explanatory value.
Continuous dissemination of this material by the IDF spokesperson to the media is deemed imperative.
