2024-01-09 14:02:00
Last week, six people lost their lives in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon. Among the victims: Saleh al-Arouri, number 2 in the political office of the terrorist movement. This strike was blamed on Israel. It was the first time since the start of the war in Gaza that the outskirts of the Lebanese capital were targeted.
This Tuesday, Jonathan Schanzer, vice-president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and often well informed about the conflict, gave further news on another member of the organization. “The information coming out of Israel over the last two days echoes what I have been hearing for several weeks,” he began for the “Times of Israel”. “The Israelis have a good idea where Yahya Sinwar is hiding.”
Israel-Hamas war: Hezbollah military leader killed in Israeli strike in Lebanon
At the moment, nothing has been confirmed yet. Whether by the authorities or by the army. Which can easily be understood because they prefer to remain discreet so as not to possibly miss the target. “My hypothesis, although it has not been confirmed, is that he is in the tunnels which extend under Khan Yunis. But what I heard more specifically was that he surrounded himself with Israeli hostages. He uses them as human shields.”
Yahya Sinwar is considered the military leader of Hamas and mastermind of the October 7 terrorist attacks. Schanzer’s information was confirmed by several media outlets. “The armed forces want to remain cautious because the leader of Hamas would use a large number of hostages as human shields in order to protect himself,” noted the Israel Hayom newspaper in its Monday edition. Israel believes at least 133 Israeli and foreign hostages are still being held in Gaza, but it is unclear how many of them are still alive.
In December, Sinwar gave his first public message since October 7. “We are on the verge of crushing the Israeli army. Hamas will not submit to the conditions dictated by the occupation.” Israel later said the lives of Hamas leaders had been on borrowed time since the terrorist group’s Oct. 7 massacre.
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