The minute-long video shows Sinwar and his family, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
New Delhi:
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released a video on Tuesday claiming to have spotted Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar walking through a Gaza tunnel with his family. If confirmed, it would be the first sighting of Sinwar since he went into hiding before Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.
The minute-long video shows Sinwar, his wife and three children led by his brother Ibrahim in a tunnel beneath the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Although Sinwar’s back was turned to the camera, the Israel Defense Forces claimed to have identified Sinwar using artificial intelligence and noted his unique features, such as the size of his ears.
“Hamas leaders, wherever they hide, should know that they are on borrowed time.”
Watch the full statement from IDF spokesperson RAdm. Daniel Hagari: pic.twitter.com/iyh2pPlFuA
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) February 14, 2024
Sinwar, 61, is a former commander of Hamas’s Qassam Brigades and was elected leader of the Palestinian organization in 2017. He spent 23 years in an Israeli prison until his release in 2011 in a prisoner exchange involving Gilad Shalit, a Franco-Israeli soldier captured by Hamas.
The video, pulled from Hamas surveillance footage recently obtained by the Israel Defense Forces, shows a healthy-looking Sinwar carrying a bag while his daughter holds a doll. The IDF claimed the footage, taken from tunnels connecting areas where hostages were held, was part of a wider network used by senior Hamas officials in recent conflicts.
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari told a news conference: “A video is not important. What is important is that we had access to intelligence on senior Hamas officials and hostages. Until we capture Sinwar, the The hunt will not stop.” He, dead or alive. “
Hagari also claimed that earlier this month, Israeli forces detained close relatives of senior Hamas military commanders, including Sinwar. The detainees include the father of Hamas’ Rafael Brigades commander Rafael Salameh and the son of another senior Hamas commander, Hosni Hamdan.
Footage on October 10 shows the Israel Defense Forces conducting a raid on a network of tunnels beneath a cemetery in the Khan Yunis Bani Suhayla area. According to Hagari, the tunnels house the bedrooms of senior Hamas officials and the offices of the commander of the eastern battalion of Khan Younis’s brigade, which directed the October 7 attack.
