The Israeli military published a video purporting to show Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, along with his family and brother Ibrahim Sinwar, inside a tunnel beneath the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

Israel has openly charged Sinwar of being the “mastermind” of Hamas’ terror attack on Israel on October 7, however experts believe he is one of dozens, making him a vital target in Israel’s war in Gaza.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari revealed the video during his daily press briefing, saying it was shot on a Hamas CCTV camera on October 10 and retrieved by the IDF in recent days.

That’s how he escaped with his entire family underground in a cave to one of the secure housing units he had built in advance, he went on.

The media is unable to independently confirm that Sinwar is the individual seen in the video or when it was filmed, and the IDF has not provided more evidence to back up their accusations.

Hagari added that the footage was a “result of our hunt” for Sinwar, and that the hunt will continue until he is apprehended, dead or alive. We’ve got no choice except to catch him. We will catch him.

Sinwar has been referred to as Israel’s most sought man in Gaza. The Israeli military has branded him a “dead man walking,” with one profile referring to him as “the Butcher from Khan Younis” due to his alleged role in the October 7 attack.

In December, the IDF encircled Sinwar’s home but did not find him, claiming that he had escaped underground. A spokesman to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later stated that it was only a matter of time until we got him.

Despite Israel’s aggressive attack on his village of Khan Younis, Sinwar has remained elusive.

On February 6, the IDF stated that it was still looking for Sinwar and other terrorist group commanders in Gaza, with Brig. Gen. Dan Goldfuss, commander of the IDF’s 98th Division, expressing confidence that his men will “get them.” He did not react when asked if he could confidently state Sinwar was still in Gaza.

Israel Defense Forces also Released a Second Video

The IDF also released a second video, claiming it showed Israeli forces in a portion of the Hamas caves where they suspect Sinwar was sheltering.

In the video, a soldier with a blurred face claims to be in Sinwar’s “main hiding place” and that the Hamas commander was there in “recent times.” The video also shows a restroom, a kitchen, plus bedrooms, and the soldier reports that troops discovered “millions of dollars and bucks in the safe and other monies that are dispersed here outside.”

Sinwar, a long-time member of the Islamist Palestinian party, was in charge of creating Hamas’ armed wing before becoming the group’s civilian and political leader, establishing vital new links with regional Arab countries.

He was elected to Hamas’ primary decision-making body, the Politburo, which he joined in 2017 as the political leader of the Gaza branch. According to research conducted by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), he has subsequently become the de facto leader of the Politburo.

The US Department of State identified him as a global terrorist in 2015, and the United Kingdom and France have just sanctioned him.

In recent weeks, the IDF has increased attacks on central and southern Gaza, notably in Khan Younis, a region to which the Israeli military had previously advised significant numbers of residents to leave during the early days of the conflict, when northern Gaza was the focus of Israel’s operations.

The Israeli military has repeatedly stated that Khan Younis is a significant Hamas stronghold, stating that Hamas organized the October 7 strikes from a tunnel network beneath civilian buildings in the city.

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