IDF soldiers in the home of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar. Photo: Israel’s Arabic X/Twitter account
Israel is aware of the exact whereabouts of Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ chief in Gaza, but is refraining from carrying out a military strike because the terror leader has surrounded himself with dozens of hostages as human shields, Israeli media reported on Monday.
Former Israeli military intelligence head Amos Yadlin told Israel’s public radio, Kan, that Sinwar’s location, in the tunnels under Khan Younis in southern Gaza, was known but that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was holding back from taking action because of his use of the hostages as human shields.
This report was further corroborated by Jonathan Schanzer, vice president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank in Washington, DC, who tweeted about consistent reports he’s heard from “informed people.”
“The Israeli leadership is in an impossible bind: take out Sinwar and potentially strike the most serious blow to Hamas since the war began, but kill hostages they vowed to rescue,” he wrote on X/Twitter.
I have heard this several times from informed people in Israel for a few weeks now.
The Israeli leadership is in an impossible bind: take out Sinwar and potentially strike the most serious blow to Hamas since the war began, but kill hostages they vowed to rescue. https://t.co/U63QymDe0Z
— Jonathan Schanzer (@JSchanzer) January 7, 2024
The IDF recently targeted Sinwar’s hideout and a connected tunnel system in Gaza, but despite ongoing efforts, Sinwar himself remains at large.
Earlier this week, photos were posted on Israel’s official Arabic language X/Twitter account of IDF soldiers, with their faces blurred out, in Sinwar’s home, under the caption: “We’re in your house Sinwar, but where is the coffee? This is how you receive guests?”
Another image shows an IDF soldier, sitting on a sofa allegedly in the living room of the Hamas leader’s house with the Israeli flag hanging on the wall behind him and the inscription: “In memory of Emanuel Falka,” an IDF soldier killed in Gaza last month.
Israeli soldier poses for photographs allegedly at the home of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/678imoXMSo
— Clash Report (@clashreport) January 7, 2024
Of the 240 people kidnapped from southern Israel by Hamas terrorists and brought to Gaza on Oct. 7, 136 hostages remain in Hamas’ custody, including 23 bodies. Over 1,200 people were also murdered that day, mostly civilians.
Hostages who were freed during the temporary Israel-Hamas truce at the end of November revealed a chilling interaction in which Sinwar, one of the masterminds of the Oct. 7 massacre, spoke to them in nearly unaccented Hebrew, promising their safety. “Hello, I am Yahya Sinwar. You are the most protected here. Nothing will happen to you,” he greeted them.
Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, who was one of the first hostages to be released in October, recounted a direct encounter with Sinwar in Gaza in which she confronted the terror chief about his actions. “Sinwar was with us about three to four days after we got there,” Lifshitz said. “I asked him how he wasn’t ashamed of himself, to do such a thing to people who were advocates for peace for many years? He didn’t answer. He remained quiet.”
Hamas deputy leader Salah al-Arouri was killed in an explosion attributed to Israel in Beirut last week along with six other senior operatives. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the top terrorist’s death.
