How Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar stays one step ahead of the Israeli military
As four months after the Oct. 7 attack approaches, the Hamas leader most wanted by Israel is believed to be alive, underground and surrounded by hostages.
TEL AVIV — Where is Yahya Sinwar? As four months after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel approaches, the elusive Hamas leader believed to be the architect of the assault has managed to stay one step ahead of Israel’s military and intelligence services.
Israel Defense Forces recently found cages where they say hostages were kept deep under Khan Younis, Sinwar's birthplace and a densely populated hub for Hamas’ political activity, current and former Israeli officials told NBC News. They say Sinwar and other Hamas leaders have likely been hiding nearby, carefully protected by layers of Israeli captives and lower-tier Hamas fighters.
“It is a fair assumption that Sinwar and Hamas leadership were close to where those hostages were kept — and then they all moved on,” said Jonathan Conricus, a lieutenant colonel in the Israeli reserves and former IDF spokesman who is now a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based policy institute. “I think being close to hostages has saved his life more than once.”
Hamas has also taken great pains to keep Sinwar’s communications with its political leaders in Doha, the capital of Qatar, undetected by Israeli intelligence, current and former IDF officials said, including during the cease-fire in November that led to the release of around 100 hostages.
A Hamas political official told NBC News that the organization is trying to protect Sinwar and its other top leaders. “I think that this is the right of any leadership or any resistance,” said the official, who asked not to be named. “I am sure that is the same in every country.”
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