WWhile a new round of negotiations on a ceasefire and the release of more hostages in the Gaza war has apparently not yet achieved a breakthrough, Israel's army believes it is following in the footsteps of the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip. The military released a video on Tuesday evening that appears to show Jihia al-Sinwar with relatives in an underground Hamas tunnel. If the photo is authentic, it would be the first images of Al-Sinwar since the beginning of the war. Where he and his command staff are today is unknown. “The hunt for Al-Sinwar will not end until we capture him, dead or alive,” said army spokesman Daniel Hagari.
Meanwhile, according to media reports, senior representatives from the USA, Israel, Qatar and Egypt agreed at a meeting in Cairo to continue the talks on a new ceasefire that began on Tuesday for another three days.
Israel's army: hiding place found
The video released by Israel's military was recorded on October 10 – three days after the start of the Gaza war – by a surveillance camera in one of Hamas's tunnels, it said. In the short shot, a man can be seen from behind walking through the section of tunnel captured by the camera, whose silhouette resembles that of Al-Sinwar. According to the military, the other people seen are Al-Sinwar's wife and children. The only person visible from the front is said to be Al-Sinwar's brother Ibrahim. The authenticity of the video could not initially be independently confirmed. It supposedly shows how the Hamas warlord and his relatives are currently “fleeing,” it was said. However, it doesn't look like it's rushed.
Israel's army also claims to have discovered Al-Sinwar's hiding place. Hagari said that he lived with his family and some of his fighters in the tunnel section under the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, which has been under dispute for weeks, while the war raged above them, and published another short video of a tour of the alleged hiding place. In it, an Israeli soldier shows a room where Al-Sinwar lived, including a safe full of banknotes in Israeli and US currency worth millions. The information on the video could not initially be independently verified. The complex also included toilets and showers, a kitchen where supplies would have been kept for a long time, and a room for bodyguards with weapons and ammunition. Al-Sinwar and his people “ran away” when they heard that Israel's military was approaching. “We are determined to catch him and we will catch him,” Hagari said.
An early end to the war is ruled out
Israel's Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi has ruled out an early end to the war. “Our military results are outstanding,” he said at a press conference on Tuesday evening. “But there is still a long way to go before we can achieve the war goals.”
In order to get closer to this, he said, the Hamas leadership around Al-Sinwar would have to be eliminated and even more commanders and fighters from the Islamist militia would have to be killed. The more than 130 Israeli hostages still held by Hamas must regain their freedom. Palestinian civilians who have fled, hundreds of thousands of whom are currently crowded together in the city of Rafah at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, should be able to return to safety. Israel's army is currently planning an offensive on the city that borders Egypt and wants to evacuate the civilians there.
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