The United States has joined Israel in its effort to find and eliminate Gaza-based Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the man who masterminded the October 7th massacre and capture of hostages in southern Israel.
According to a report published Sunday by The New York Times, “vast resources” have been invested in the effort to hunt down the mass murderer who launched the war with Israel that is now going into its 11th month — the longest war Israel has ever faced since the 1948 War of Independence.
The US has provided Israel with high-tech ground-penetrating radar to help in the hunt for Sinwar, according to the report. It’s not clear how the technology works, nor is it clear whether the radar can differentiate between Sinwar and other Hamas terrorists moving around in the tunnels.
A special unit has been set up in the headquarters of Israel’s Shin Bet (ISA) intelligence agency. American intelligence agencies have been tasked with intercepting communications to and from the elusive Hamas chief — but that is far from easy.
Sinwar has eschewed the use of electronic technology since the start of the war, when he fled with his wife and children to the terror group’s tunnels deep beneath the streets of Gaza.
Instead, the Hamas chief often referred to as a “ghost” sends handwritten communiques on paper via hand-picked trusted messengers.
It is for this reason — in addition to sheer stubbornness — that negotiations over a hostage release deal between Israel and the terrorist organization have dragged on for so long. It takes time for messages to reach Sinwar and for his answers to return — sometimes a week, sometimes even longer. And Hamas representatives are unwilling to make any move unless Sinwar has approved it.
Israeli forces have come close to catching up with “the ghost” several times since he fled underground — but each time, the troops arrive to find the coffee still warm, documents scattered about, and thousands of dollars’ worth of Israeli shekels — in January 2024, nearly a million dollars in shekels was found along with other items making it clear Sinwar had just managed to escape again.
In December 2023, the IDF dropped flyers throughout Gaza, offering a reward of $400,000 for information leading to the whereabouts and capture of the Hamas leader.
Rewards of $300,000 were offered for Yahya Sinwar’s brother, top Hamas leader Muhammed Sinwar; $200,000 for the location of Khan Younis Brigade commander Rafa Salama; and $100,000 for the location of Mohammed Deif, the head of the Hamas Al-Qassam military wing.
Salama and Deif were assassinated together this summer by Israel while they were at a meeting on the outskirts of the humanitarian zone near Khan Younis.
Muhammad Sinwar has since been appointed to replace Deif as commander of the Hamas Al-Qassam military wing. He, too, is rarely seen; but all good things come to those who wait.
