As of: February 14, 2024, 3:13 p.m
By: Stefan Schmid
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His death is the declared war aim of Israel's military.
Hamas leader Sinwar is still on the run, but there appear to be traces.
Khan Yunis - The Israeli military is advancing further and further into the Gaza Strip, but an end to the war seems far from being in sight.
As the advance continues, the number of civilian casualties also increases, for which Israel is sometimes subject to strong criticism from allies.
While the people of Gaza are suffering above, according to Israel, the Hamas leaders are hiding in the extensive tunnels.
At least this is what video footage released by the Israeli military suggests.
In focus: Hamas leader Jihia Sinwar, who is being hunted by Israel.
Apparently the first pictures of Sinwar since October 7th
With Hamas' attack on Israel, many of the terrorist organization's leaders went into hiding.
Also Jihia Sinwar, who leads the group's fortunes in the Gaza Strip and is considered the main planner of the attack on Israel on October 7th.
Now the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) released alleged video recordings of Sinwar.
The video is said to show the Hamas leader, along with three of his children, his wife and his brother Ibrahim, “escaping” through a tunnel under the city of Bani Suheila on October 10, 2023, according to the IDF reading.
However, only Jihia Sinwar's brother can be seen from the front, all other people only from behind.
However, the Israeli military claims to have identified the most powerful Hamas man in Gaza based on the silhouette, the large ears and with the help of artificial intelligence.
If you look at the video shown by the IDF during a press conference, at least there isn't much of a rush.
Of course, this observation does not unequivocally refute the assessment of an escape; Sinwar and his family could simply have felt very safe and there was no need to rush at that moment.
IDF speaks of further material on Hamas leaders
The video material itself probably comes from a Hamas surveillance camera.
During their advance and search of several tunnels, the Israeli military came across the video file, said IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari.
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Hagari says that “one video more or less” is not “what really counts,” but important insights can still be drawn from them.
In addition to the hunt for high-ranking Hamas members, it is also about the whereabouts of the Israeli hostages.
Jihia Sinwar during a performance in April 2022. © picture alliance/dpa |
Mohammed Talatene
It is not entirely clear why the IDF is publishing such material at this time.
However, it stands to reason that they want to both convey a sense of control to their own population and send a signal in the direction of Hamas.
In all likelihood, the IDF will only release truly meaningful images once Sinwar has been captured.
This also fits the statement of an Israeli official who told
Channel 12
that they had much more recent video files of Sinwar.
Hamas leader Sinwar at diving station
At the moment, Jihia Sinwar's whereabouts are a mystery, at least to the public, but his own people probably have no contact with him either.
Israeli media reported that there had been no contact between Sinwar and Hamas members for weeks.
He also did not respond to an international mediation proposal for a hostage agreement.
His capture could play an important role in a possible end to the war.
“There is still a long way to go before we can achieve the war goals,” Israel’s Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi said at a press conference on Tuesday evening (February 13).
According to Halevi, one of the declared goals of the war is to eliminate other Hamas commanders, especially Jihia Sinwar.
(sh)