After months of intense fighting, Israel has achieved significant successes in the Gaza Strip, destroying much of Hamas’ infrastructure both above and below ground, and eliminating thousands of militants. Additionally, Israel has taken out most of the Hamas leadership, including high-ranking figures like Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh. However, one prominent target Israel is still pursuing is the elimination of Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind behind the October 7 attacks and the leader of Hamas.<\/p>\n
The New York Times<\/em> published an in-depth article today (Sunday) in collaboration with Ronen Bergman, the military correspondent for Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth, revealing new details about the Israeli manhunt for Sinwar, assisted by the United States, which has forced him deep underground.<\/p>\n The elimination of Sinwar is expected to significantly impact the ongoing conflict, potentially constituting a “major military victory” over Hamas that could, according to U.S. estimates, allow Netanyahu to conclude the war.<\/p>\n Going Underground: From Technological Communication to Human Messengers<\/strong> However, Sinwar has since been forced to communicate through a system of human messengers, avoiding traceable technological means. Yet, even this system is not entirely impervious to Israeli monitoring; last week, The Washington Post reported that arch-terrorist Mohammed Deif was killed in part thanks to intelligence provided by a 19-year-old messenger who carried messages.<\/p>\n NYT<\/em> compares the hunt for Sinwar to the decade-long search for Bin Laden following the 9\/11 attacks, which eventually led to his capture and killing in Pakistan. They assess that the pursuit of Sinwar is “more frustrating” because the Hamas leader continues to actively manage Hamas operations, unlike Bin Laden in his later years.<\/p>\n However, it is unclear how much Sinwar can truly manage Hamas activities given his fear of Israeli elimination, which forces him to stay deep in tunnels. Still, American officials believe he continues to set the overall strategy for the organization. Sinwar also has the final say regarding Hamas’ policy on negotiations with Israeli intermediaries for a hostage deal.<\/p>\n Diplomats involved in the negotiations testify that Hamas representatives say they must adhere to Sinwar’s instructions regarding the negotiations. Additionally, the American newspaper claims that Sinwar is the only one who can guarantee that the outcomes of the negotiations will be implemented on the ground in Gaza.<\/p>\n NYT<\/em> does not reach a conclusion on what might happen in the negotiations if Sinwar is killed. American officials believe that Sinwar himself is unwilling to release the hostages held close to him, serving as a human shield against IDF strikes. However, if he is eliminated, it is believed this could lead to radicalization among his potential successors and avoidance of a deal with Israel. Those involved in the negotiations told the Times that, unlike in the past, communication with Sinwar has become much more complex, with responses now taking much longer than before.<\/p>\n U.S. Assistance: Special Units, Ground-Penetrating Radar<\/strong> Jake Sullivan, Biden\u2019s National Security Advisor, said, “We have assisted the Israelis with significant effort and resources in the hunt for leadership, especially Sinwar,” adding, “Our people sat in the room with the Israelis and worked on this problem set. And clearly, we have a lot of experience in hunting high-profile targets.”<\/p>\n Additional U.S. assistance included ground-penetrating radar that helped map Hamas’ extensive tunnel network throughout the Gaza Strip. This information, combined with intelligence gathered from captured Hamas militants and numerous documents found, provided a more complete picture of the tunnel network.<\/p>\n Additionally, it was reported that several weeks after the massacre, a special committee comprising senior officials from Military Intelligence and the IDF approved a “kill list” of senior Hamas figures, many of whom have since been eliminated. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has a habit of marking off names with an X on the list in his office at the Kirya military headquarters, but Sinwar\u2019s name has yet to be crossed out in red, at least for now.<\/p>\n The Real Reason Behind Gallant’s Fuel Insistence Revealed<\/strong> In any case, the video aligns with the investigation’s claims that Sinwar insisted on keeping his family close to him, at least during the first half-year of the war. At that time, Sinwar continued to use cell phones and satellite phones, facilitated by a cellular network installed in the tunnels. This, according to NYT<\/em>, allowed him to communicate with his associates in Doha. Israeli and American intelligence services managed to intercept these calls but could not determine Sinwar’s location based on them.<\/p>\n It was revealed that Gallant’s insistence on continuing fuel deliveries to the Gaza Strip, against the opposition of his coalition partners, was to keep the generators running that enabled Sinwar\u2019s phone calls.<\/p>\n During the period of wiretapping on Sinwar, intelligence agencies learned about his underground life and his obsessive monitoring of Israeli media reports. Israeli officials told the newspaper that all Hamas members are forced to come above ground from time to time for health reasons, but so far, Sinwar has managed to surface several times without being detected.<\/p>\n An example of an above-ground movement that ended in elimination was the airstrike in Khan Younis that killed Mohammed Deif, head of Hamas’ military wing. The newspaper writes that he “was Sinwar’s top advisor but was less disciplined than his boss. He surfaced much more regularly, allowing Western intelligence agencies to discover his location.”<\/p>\n Israel and the U.S. believe that Sinwar is hiding under the city of Khan Younis, his birthplace, and that he likely makes “routine journeys” to underground Rafah. Last January, IDF forces raided an extensive tunnel complex beneath Khan Younis where the arch-terrorist was hiding, but he managed to escape beforehand, leaving behind documents and nearly a million dollars in Israeli currency, likely due to the pressure he was under.<\/p>\n Shrinking Circle of Associates and Sinwar’s Power<\/strong> The advisory circle includes Mohammed Deif, his deputy Marwan Issa, both of whom have been eliminated; Ruhi Mushtaba, whom Israel has not yet killed; the commander of Gaza City, Ezaddin al-Haddad; and Mohammed Sinwar, Yahya\u2019s brother, who has essentially replaced Mohammed Deif. This list was provided to the newspaper by Ibrahim El-Saadoun, a Turkish expert with close ties to Hamas. This shrinking list, alongside Sinwar\u2019s need to be in constant flight, has turned the Hamas leader’s life into a living hell on earth\u2014or rather, underground.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In constant flight, cut off from communication, and rarely emerging above ground to survive: The New York Times published an extensive article on the Israeli hunt for Sinwar, which has driven him underground.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77,6],"tags":[1476,1477,1475,1587,1678],"class_list":["post-9492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-idf","category-security","tag-gaza","tag-hamas","tag-idf","tag-sinwar","tag-terror-tunnels"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nThe article reveals technological means provided by the U.S. to Israel, including special teams and ground-penetrating radar to locate Sinwar underground. It also reveals that at the beginning of the war, Defense Minister Gallant insisted on continuing fuel deliveries to Gaza to maintain communication channels between Hamas leaders, allowing Israel to monitor them. At that stage of the war, Sinwar communicated using cell phones and satellite phones.<\/p>\n
\nAccording to NYT<\/em>, after October 7, a special unit was established at Shin Bet headquarters, comprising Military Intelligence and Shin Bet members, with the sole purpose of locating Yahya Sinwar. U.S. intelligence agencies have taken on the task of monitoring his communications, with the CIA forming a special force according to the publication, and the Pentagon sending special forces to advise the IDF.<\/p>\n
\nAccording to the newspaper, the Israeli military believes that in the first weeks of the war, Sinwar lived in tunnels beneath Gaza City, which was the first target in the military maneuver. According to the investigation, the IDF found a video filmed a few days before the maneuver, showing Sinwar fleeing with his family to another hiding spot. It is unclear whether this video is the one later released by the IDF Spokesperson in March, described as having been filmed in Khan Younis.<\/p>\n
\nTo this day, the hunt continues, despite the difficulty in obtaining concrete evidence regarding his whereabouts. Regarding Sinwar’s functioning as Hamas leader, the newspaper notes that although he wields tremendous power in the organization\u2019s decision-making, he formulates his positions alongside senior members of Hamas’ military and political wings, with his advisory circle shrinking. Many of them have been eliminated, captured, or were outside the Strip when the war began and are unable to return.<\/p>\n