Israel: Yahya Sinwar managed to escape arrest twice recently at the last minute

Israeli media reports said, on Wednesday, that the leader of the Hamas movement in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, escaped twice in the last moments of his arrest at the hands of Israeli forces, who are carrying out a wide campaign aimed at arresting him inside the Strip.

According to reports, in recent days, Israeli army forces have discovered tunnels in which Sinwar is believed to have been hiding before they were discovered.

Citing unnamed sources, Israeli Channel 13 reported that the army is focusing its activities mainly in the city of Khan Yunis, south of Gaza, and its environs, in order to achieve its goal of assassinating Sinwar.

Times of Israel newspaper reported that during the hunt for Sinwar, the Israeli forces uncovered a former hideout for Muhammad al Deif, commander of the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.

It’s believed, according to the Times of Israel, Sinwar is currently hiding in Khan Yunis, after fleeing the northern Gaza Strip by hiding in a humanitarian convoy heading south, early in the current war.

Intelligence collected by the Israeli army indicates that Sinwar is constantly moving, rather than staying in one place for a long time.

The Israeli forces surrounded Sinwar’s house in Khan Yunis on December 6, despite the fact that there was no indication that he was residing there, given his constant movement and hiding.

Sinwar was chosen to replace Ismail Haniyeh as leader of the movement inside Gaza in 2017.

Haniyeh currently resides in Qatar and serves as head of the political bureau of Hamas.

Israeli courts had previously sentenced Sinwar to four life prison sentences in 1989 on charges of planning to kidnap and kill two Israeli soldiers and four Palestinians, but he was released 22 years later as part of the deal concluded by Israel to return the captured soldier Gilad Shalit.

It’s widely believed that Yahya Sinwar planned and supervised the implementation of the October 7 attack.