Israeli officials are confident that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is still hiding inside “a labyrinthine network of tunnels surrounded by a human shield of hostages intended to deter an operation to capture or kill him,” the Washington Post reported.
According to the report, US officials agree with the Israeli assessment that Sinwar is hiding in tunnels surrounded by hostages underneath his hometown of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, where he was born in 1962.
Israeli and US intelligence sources told the Post that even if Sinwar’s exact hiding place is uncovered, it would be extremely challenging to carry out an operation to eliminate him without endangering the hostages.
“‘Sinwar can be found but killing him risks hostages’ lives too. It’s not about locating him, it’s about doing something without risking the lives of the hostages,’ sources told the paper.”
The report added that sources familiar with the details said that “analysts in American military intelligence agencies are helping Israel in the process of mapping out Hamas tunnels – using ‘powerful analytic technologies’ that combine various data outputs.”
“The sources added that American intelligence agencies are helping Israel analyze encrypted communication and information extracted from computer hard drives, as well as processing information obtained via questioning and investigations.”
The report continues by discussing how crucial the goal of killing is to the broader war effort.
“Killing Sinwar would be a huge strategic and symbolic victory for Israel. But some experts question whether eliminating a single leader will bring the government closer to Netanyahu’s stated goal of totally destroying Hamas, which critics say is an ill-defined and unrealistic objective.”
“’Killing Sinwar would be exercising pure justice. In fact, he deserves to die more than once,’ said Alon Pinkas, a veteran Israeli diplomat and former senior-level adviser. ‘For Israelis he represents evil incarnate, but there should be no doubt: Getting him will not ‘eradicate,’ ‘annihilate’ or ‘topple’ Hamas. Nor would it represent a victory. It would be a justified retribution exacted on one man and it would make Israelis feel there’s justice and a measure of closure. Nothing more, nothing less.'”
“But the fate of Sinwar remains crucial to the outcome of the war, even if the definition of victory changes. Some officials involved in talks about a potential settlement have discussed allowing Sinwar to leave Gaza and go into exile, although it remains unclear whether he would agree and what country, if any, would be willing to accept him, said one Arab official.”
“Another former Mossad officer, also still in close touch with his colleagues, argued that killing Sinwar and his lieutenants was important, but only one piece of a broader requirement to destroy Hamas’s military capability, for which an assault on Rafah is essential.”
“‘Removing Sinwar will not end the war, but it could hasten Hamas’s demise,’ said one person close to senior Israeli leadership.”
“’It would, we estimate, encourage more Gazans to speak out and take on responsibility without Hamas,’ this person said. ‘And it would sever vital ties between Hamas and its international network. We know of course someone else would step into his shoes, but it would either lead to a split or a tremendously weakened Hamas.'”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
One Response
The short answer to the question in the headline is probably not, but there is a small possibility.
I expect him to have some sort of dead man’s switch to directly cause hostages to be killed the moment he is killed.
I am relieved that I am not responsible for the weighty moral decisions that need to be made under these circumstances.
If you allow Sinwar to remain alive and free, you are risking further lives, but you allow the hostages to live another day.
If you kill him or capture him, you likely are directly responsible for hostages dying.
It’s dark but perhaps look to the situation of Sheva Ben Bichri for some guidance.
I also don’t put much stock in the hostage negotiations considering that they’ve been claiming that Sinwar is not in communication with Hamas political leadership in Qatar, Turkey, and Egypt. They also say that there are no communication lines between different Hamas units within Gaza. So how can you expect to provide hostage releases when you cannot communicate with the factions that are holding the hostages?
Therefore, I expect any deal to require a 24-48 ceasefire before any hostage release. In which case you just gave a free window for Hamas to regroup and reposition before rejecting the deal or saying that the negotiators didn’t have the power they thought they did and if you don’t want the negotiations to fall apart you must make further concessions.
It’s not pretty.
Entebbe was child’s play compared to this and even so, hostages were killed.
Daven