The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced this Wednesday that the Israeli Army is surrounding the home of Yahya Sinwar, leader of Hamas in Gaza, as part of the Israeli ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
“Our forces can reach anywhere in the Gaza Strip. Now they are surrounding Sinwar’s house,” the president said in video statements released by his office. He added that even though the Hamas leader is in hiding and is not at home, before Israel catches him “it is only a matter of time.”
Israeli troops expanded their military operation towards the south of the Strip after the truce with Hamas broke on Friday, in what they describe as “the third phase” of the war.
In the last days The ground forces advanced in a southerly direction, with the city of Khan Yunis as their main objective. considered a stronghold of Hamas and the place of origin of Sinwar and the head of the Al Qasam Brigades (the armed wing of the Islamist group), Mohamed Deif.
(Also: This is how the Hamas attack against Israel was created, according to documents recovered by the Army)
Israel believes that both could hide there, in underground tunnels where the around 138 hostages could also be. – fifteen of them dead – that remain in the hands of Hamas in Gaza.
“We are pushing to allow the Red Cross to visit our hostages. To this end, today I spoke with the president of the Red Cross and told her to go to Qatar, since it is proven that it has influence over Hamas,” Netanyahu added. who appealed to also provide medicine to the captives.
BREAKING: Prime Minister Netanyahu says IDF troops in Khan Younis are surrounding the home of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip:
“He may escape, but it’s only a matter of time until we catch him.” pic.twitter.com/Am1wS8W2Vd
— SissiEmperatriz 🇮🇱 (@GabyLob) December 6, 2023
All this occurs while the intense fighting continues in the Strip, after Israel assured this Tuesday that it is carrying out the “most intense” confrontations against Palestinian militants since its ground operation began on October 27.
The war broke out on October 7, with a surprise attack by Hamas on Israel that left more than 1,200 Israelis dead. After that, Israel launched a military offensive on the Strip, which has been heavily bombed and in which more than 16,200 Palestinians have already died, according to Gazan sources.
(Read on: Why did Khan Yunis become the new target of Israel’s war in Gaza?)
After the start of the Army offensive against Khan Younis, masses of displaced people who took refuge there after previously fleeing the north of the Strip and Gaza City have had to evacuate again and are now in the city of Rafah.
At this point, the humanitarian situation in Rafah is increasingly difficult, most hospitals are out of service or have almost no capacity to care for the sick and wounded, while 1.8 million Gazans are now internally displaced.
EFE
#Israeli #army #surrounds #house #Yahya #Sinwar #Hamas #leader #Gaza