OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
12:30 PM – Tuesday, February 13, 2024
Israel has obtained video footage of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar hiding in an underground tunnel under Gaza’s Khan Yunis. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) recently released the footage to the public.
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Without attaching the video clip, Israeli television network Channel 12 reported that officials have acquired footage of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, in a Gaza tunnel with his wife and “two or three” children.
The video, according to Channel 12, was captured on October 10th, 2023, just three days after the October 7th massacre in Israel. Today, the video’s release was finally approved for publication.
Israel has openly accused Sinwar of being the “mastermind” behind Hamas’ terror attack against Israel on October 7th, although experts have maintained that he is probably only one of the several individuals who were behind it.
The report described that the footage depicts Sinwar and the family members being guided by an operative beneath Khan Younis as they go from one tunnel to another. According to the report, it depicts the operative taking the family through a tunnel while holding a flashlight.
The minute-long clip was taken from Hamas surveillance footage that IDF forces operating in the Gazan city had recovered from the tunnels.
The report also stated that in the video footage, Sinwar appears to be in good health and is wearing flip flops from Adidas while carrying a bag.
Channel 12 revealed last week that the security establishment believes that Sinwar has been “out of contact” for a while, possibly more than two weeks, and has not communicated with Egyptian and Qatari mediators during that time while negotiations for a potential ceasefire are ongoing.
Hamas had installed a camera that managed to get the footage of Sinwar. It has been said that the IDF has been using that tunnel for operations over the past few days.
In a speech before the video was made public, IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari stated that the IDF had detained relatives of Hamas terrorist leaders and that they were “providing us with large amounts of intelligence.” Hagari also emphasized that Sinwar will be found by Israeli forces “dead or alive.”
The recently discovered video footage marks Sinwar’s first appearance since the start of the conflict on October 7th, 2023, and the ensuing warfare in the Gaza Strip.
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