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Jihia al-Sinwar 2022 in Gaza City

Photo: Mohammed Talatene / dpa

The Israeli army believes it is following in the footsteps of Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Jihia al-Sinwar. The military released a video on Tuesday evening that appears to show Al-Sinwar and his relatives allegedly escaping 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 catch him, dead or alive," said army spokesman Daniel Hagari.

The video released by Israel's military was recorded on October 10 - three days after the start of the 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 the Hamas leader “fleeing” with his relatives, it was said.

Alleged hiding place including safe and weapons

Israel's army also claims to have discovered a suspected hiding place for Al-Sinwar. Hagari said that he lived with his family and some of his fighters in the tunnel section under the city of Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip, which has been fought over for weeks, while the war raged above them. A safe full of banknotes worth millions of dollars in Israeli and US currency is said to have been found in the suspected hiding place. The information could not initially be independently verified. According to the information, the complex also included toilets and showers, a kitchen where supplies were 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," said Hagari.

Earlier this month, family members from the inner circle of Hamas' senior military leadership in the Gaza Strip and those close to Al-Sinwar were arrested on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activities, Hagari said. These include, among others, the father of Hamas brigade commander Rafa Salama. The interrogations of those arrested provided Israel's security services with important information, it said.

czl/dpa