Israel publishes a video of Sinwar in one of Gaza’s tunnels
The spokesperson for the Israeli army confirms that the recording dates back to the beginning of the war and demonstrates the Israeli state's ability to obtain accurate information from inside the tunnels
Israeli army spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, released a video clip on Tuesday evening, claiming it to be of the leader of Hamas movement in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, and his family inside a tunnel in Khan Yunis city, south of the Strip, believed to be from the early days of the war. Israel published the 42-second video on its Arabic-language army spokesperson’s Twitter account, Avichay Adraee, on the “X” platform.
The video shows a person from behind whose identity cannot be confirmed, walking in what appears to be a tunnel accompanied by a woman and three children, led by a sixth person. Hagari said during a press conference, “Special units discovered, in recent days, dozens of meters of underground tunnel, and we found a video clip from a Hamas camera installed in it,” claiming that “the video shows Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar fleeing with his children and one of his wives through the tunnel network in Khan Yunis, led by his brother, to one of the safe houses that he had previously built,” adding “our pursuit of Sinwar will not stop until we capture him, dead or alive.”
While the Israeli army spokesperson did not specify the date of filming this video, the Israeli Channel “12” reported that it was captured on October 10th, just three days after the outbreak of the war. One journalist asked Hagari during the press conference, “What is the significance of this video if it was taken at the beginning of the war more than four months ago? And what do we know today about the whereabouts and condition of Sinwar?” The Israeli military spokesperson avoided answering, saying only, “This action demonstrates our capabilities in Khan Yunis; we gather a lot of intelligence information there.”
Until today, the Israeli army has failed to reach Sinwar, who is considered the mastermind behind the “Storm Al-Aqsa” attack launched by Hamas on settlements and military bases adjacent to Gaza on October 7th last year. Observers consider the release of this mysterious video an attempt to cover up the failures and losses of the Israeli army, which failed to achieve its objectives in Gaza, especially in eliminating the military capabilities of Hamas and regaining its prisoners from the sector.
Observers also believe that targeting Sinwar will lead to the cessation of hostage release negotiations, as he personally manages the negotiations while the Israeli government seeks any achievement. Since the outbreak of the war, 569 Israeli officers and soldiers have been killed, including 232 since the start of ground operations on October 27th last year, with 2,882 wounded, including 1,346 in ground battles, according to the Israeli army‘s website. The devastating Israeli war on Gaza until Tuesday has left “28,473 martyrs and 68,146 wounded, most of them children and women,” in addition to thousands missing under the rubble, according to Palestinian authorities.
It also caused immense destruction and an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, with shortages of food, water, and medicine, and the displacement of nearly two million Palestinians, more than 85% of the population, according to the United Nations.
For the first time since its establishment in 1948, Israel is facing trial before the International Court of Justice, the highest judicial body in the United Nations, on charges of committing “genocide” against the Palestinians.
