Israeli spies believe that Mohammed Sinwar, a Hamas chief who was declared dead in 2014, is actually alive and has been living in the tunnels beneath Gaza. According to sources close to Israeli intelligence, Sinwar was closely involved in planning the October 7 attacks on Israel. One former Mossad counter-terror chief even stated that Sinwar was “100%” part of the core team behind the attacks. Sinwar’s brother, Yahya Sinwa, is the leader of Hamas in Gaza and is considered Israel’s most-wanted terrorist.
In 2014, Hamas declared Mohammed Sinwar dead, even releasing a photo of him lying on his back with blood around him. Since then, he has not been seen in public, except for a silhouette appearance in an interview with Al Jazeera Arabic in May of last year. The Israeli military has recently revealed that they are once again hunting for him.
In other news, Reuters reports that Hamas has suspended hostage talks with Israel. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated earlier that there “could be” an agreement. Netanyahu mentioned on NBC News’ Meet The Press program that a “great deal” of information is known about the location of the hostages, but he did not provide any further details. He also mentioned that Israel was not close to a deal until their ground operation in Gaza began. It is believed that 239 hostages are currently trapped in the Palestinian enclave.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has stated that it is unable to confirm any evacuations from al Shifa Hospital in Gaza. While Israel has claimed that there is a safe access point for civilians to evacuate from the hospital, ICRC spokesperson Ala’a Nayel has stated that they cannot confirm any evacuation operations at this point. The ICRC emphasises that evacuations must be carried out in a safe manner to avoid putting civilians at risk. They remind both sides of their moral obligation to preserve human life and their obligations under international humanitarian law.
