Israeli efforts at locating Hamas’s Gaza-based leader Yahya Sinwar have picked up after several Israeli media outlets said Sinwar had gone for weeks without being heard from or accounted for, leading to speculation about his possible death. Of those reports, some key ones to consider have been published by Haaretz and Maariv in which the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate made suggestions that he was killed in recent airstrikes on the Gaza-based Hamas leadership. That being said, however, the reality is there has been no conclusive evidence supporting such claims.
Sinwar, who allegedly led the attack conducted by Hamas in southern Israel on October 7, has a pattern of vanishing from view. He often returns at strategic moments for example, when there are talks underway regarding a ceasefire. The Israeli military has pounded several locations believed to house Sinwar, including tunnel systems within Gaza. No proof, however, that Sinwar is actually dead has surfaced.
While there is no evidence to confirm this, Israeli security officials and intelligence agencies, including Shin Bet, believe he might be alive. According to some, he is sending coded messages to his mediators from his secret location in writing.
Since the attack, Israel has been actively searching for Hamas leaders, pursuing military chief Muhammad Deif and Khan Younis Brigade leader Rafa’a Salameh among others. Ismail Haniyeh and deputy Saleh al-Arouri were killed by drones early this year. Most observers argue that Yahya Sinwar is one of the prime targets, but the army maintains that it has no statement on whether he is found or not. No Israeli military official comes out to confirm his status while some others decline to say whether he isn’t there, a development that makes the fate of the Hamas’s Sinwar unclear.
