The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) published footage Tuesday purporting to show Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in a tunnel under Khan Yunis.
IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari aired the footage that was dated Oct. 10 — three days after Hamas invaded Israel — from a surveillance camera during a press conference, The Times of Israel reported. (RELATED: Israel Releases Footage Of The Daring Operation That Freed Two Hostages)
“The clip shows his wife and children fleeing with him. Hagari says that earlier this month troops detained close relatives of senior Hamas military commanders, and of Sinwar. He says that among those detained are the father of Rafa’a Salameh, the commander of Hama’s Rafah Brigade, and the son of Husni Hamdan, another senior Hamas commander. ‘In the Shin Bet interrogations they are providing us with a lot of intelligence,’ Hagari says,” Emanuel Fabian, The Times of Israel military correspondent, tweeted in part.
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari in a press conference airs footage showing Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in a tunnel in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis.
He says the footage is from October 10, three days after the war began.
The clip shows his wife and children fleeing with him.… pic.twitter.com/vg5zXWvjGd
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) February 13, 2024
The footage shows a young man with a flashlight darting into the tunnel who is followed by an adult and three children. Then, a figure carrying a briefcase, purported to be Sinwar, appears after the children pass through. The young man with the flashlight was identified as Ibrahim Sinwar, a brother of Yahya, The Times of Israel reported.
The tunnel route allegedly used by Sinwar was provided by the IDF in a map tweeted out by Fabian.
This IDF illustration shows the tunnel route in Khan Younis where Sinwar was on October 10 pic.twitter.com/sgQTpyu90b
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) February 13, 2024
The IDF also aired a clip of their soldiers giving a tour of one of the tunnels allegedly used by Sinwar and senior Hamas members, where a safe was found containing “millions of shekels and dollars in cash,” Fabian tweeted.
The IDF airs a clip showing troops giving a tour of a tunnel where Yahya Sinwar, his family, and other senior Hamas officials hid amid the war.
The video shows that the tunnel has two bathrooms, a stocked kitchen, an area to sleep in, and a separate room which the IDF says… pic.twitter.com/1pH7UIVMjM
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) February 13, 2024
“One video or another is not what really matters. What is important is the intelligence that will allow us to reach senior Hamas officials and the hostages. The hunt for Sinwar will not stop, until we catch him, dead or alive,” Hagari said, The Times of Israel reported.