IDF Reveals First Footage of Hamas Gaza Leader Since War Started

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) published a recently discovered video on Tuesday of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in a tunnel beneath Khan Yunis—the first time Sinwar has been seen since October 7.

IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari presented the footage during a press conference that evening and explained that the video, which is dated October 10, shows Sinwar walking through the tunnel along with one of his wives and children. The group is led by a second, unidentified man.

In the video, the man who is claimed to be Sinwar is seen hurrying through the tunnel wearing flip-flops and a T-shirt. However, the man’s back is turned to the camera and his face obscured, making it impossible for The Media Line to independently verify that it is Sinwar based on the video alone.

The camera that captured the footage was put up by Hamas, Hagari noted.

Finding and eliminating Sinwar has been a stated central goal of Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza, but despite efforts by the Israeli intelligence apparatus, the 61-year-old Hamas leader has so far managed to evade the Israeli military.

According to Israeli officials, Sinwar, infamously referred to as “The Butcher of Khan Yunis,” is the true mastermind behind the October 7 attack on Israel that launched the entire region into chaos.

“The hunt will not stop until he is captured, dead or alive,” Hagari pledged to the camera.

On Tuesday, Hagari alluded to the idea that the IDF was growing closer to its goal, noting that recently arrested family members of Hamas officials were “providing us with large amounts of intelligence.”

In a second IDF video posted that day, an Israeli soldier, whose face is blurred, shows a room that he says was the Hamas chief’s main hiding place, from which he only recently fled.