Watch | ‘We’ll Catch Him, Dead Or Alive’: Israeli Military Airs Footage of Hamas Leader Sinwar In Gaza Tunnel

The Israeli military has released footage of what it said was Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar walking through a Gaza tunnel with his family members. This is the first time Sinwar has been spotted since he went into hiding before the deadly October 7 attack, The Times of Israel reported.

The video footage was released as media reports said that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was closing in on the Palestinian outfit’s chief. “Spotted: Yahya Sinwar running away and hiding in his underground terrorist tunnel network as Gazan civilians suffer above ground under the rule of Hamas terrorism. There is no tunnel deep enough for him to hide in,” the IDF said in a post on social media along with video footage.

New Hostage Deal

The release of the footage also came as Israeli, US, Qatari and Egyptian officials were gathered in Cairo for talks aimed at reaching a new hostage deal. The one-minute clip features Sinwar in a tunnel underneath the southern city of Khan Younis, walking behind what appears to be his wife and three of his children, led by Sinwar’s brother Ibrahim.

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Sinwar appears healthy, carrying a bag and wearing flip-flops, the Israeli newspaper said. The video was taken from Hamas surveillance footage from the tunnels that was recently retrieved by IDF troops operating in the area. Though the Hamas chief’s back is facing the camera, the IDF could identify him by the larger size of the figure’s ears and by using artificial intelligence.

The newly released footage is from October 10 but Israel media said that the authorities have additional footage of Siwnar, including clips that were filmed more recently. “Every resident of Gaza [can now] see how Hamas leaders live underground and how they don’t think about anything other than themselves, their families and their money,” IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari told Al Arabiya ahead of the airing of the footage.

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“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 in a presser after releasing the footage. The IDF spokesperson said that earlier this month, troops detained close relatives of senior Hamas military commanders, including Sinwar.

Hagari said Israeli special forces raided another part of the tunnel where surveillance camera footage showed the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip fleeing with his children and one of his wives through the network of tunnels. “In the footage, which was taken on October 10, at the beginning of the war, he escaped with his family underground to one of the safe accommodation complexes he had built in advance,” he added. “We are determined to capture him, and we will capture him.”

(With agency inputs)