The situation that Defense Minister Galant described yesterday (Monday) in his statement, that Sinwar was on the run and “fled from hiding place to hiding place”, creates cautious optimism in the security establishment, where they make it clear that the pressure will continue until the IDF reaches the leader of Hamas. Coincidentally or not, Netanyahu also commented on the faction’s meeting yesterday To the issue of the hunt for him, and the connection between his elimination and the end of the war, and for the first time also the time limit – “months, not years”.
The many statements that were suddenly heard yesterday regarding the hunt for Sinwar are not actually related to progress on the issue, but to an attempt to mediate to the public what is happening on the ground, and to bridge the gap between expectations and the result that has not yet been achieved. It seems that after four months, the public has a lot less patience, quite rightly. But those who know what is happening in the field see the achievements.
True, Israel has not yet reached the great achievements – the dissolution of Hamas, a deal that will return all the abductees and the elimination of the Hamas leadership. But action has a certain pace, relatively slow, so there is no choice but to be patient, and wait the time necessary to reach these goals, which are within reach, even if not in the immediate time frame.
Sinwar’s escape space is shrinking, but the IDF’s progress is slow and complex
I talk to fighters who operated inside the tunnels. They describe to me the progress of the IDF along the underground route. Sometimes a force can advance a whole kilometer underground, in a tunnel. They advance slowly and carefully, and each time locate another compound, and find more intelligence findings of various types such as documents and accessories that cannot be specified .
The hunt for him is progressing. Sinwar | Photo: Reuters
The same findings indicate that the force is in the right direction. That is, that the people on whose behalf the IDF went on a mission were right there, and moved to another place. It must be remembered that every compound the IDF locates is one less compound that Sinwar can return to. Thus, the army reduces each time the space for escape and the ability of the Hamas leader to find another hiding place, thus increasing the chance of getting their hands on him.
The forces have already arrived at the rooms where the Hamas leadership and the hostages were. The cautious assessment is that this pursuit will pay off despite the complexity and despite the enormous risk to the fighters.
IDF: Progress continues in Khan Yunis
The IDF announced this morning the progress in Khan Yunis. “The forces of Division 98 continue to fight in the west of the city, to clear new spaces above and below the ground,” the IDF said. “In the last day, the forces eliminated dozens of terrorists and arrested about 80 suspects of involvement in terrorism, including a number of terrorists who participated in the murderous massacre on October 7.”
“The snipers of the Givatay Brigade combat team eliminated more than 15 terrorists,” the IDF added. During the raids, the paratroopers and Agoz located weapons including grenades, Kalashnikov rifles, RPG missiles, ‘Schwaz’ charges and cartridges. An Islamic Jihad activist who participated in the murderous massacre at Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7. Killed by a fighter jet directed by the Gaza Division in the Deir al-Balach region.
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