Yahya Sinwar: What was the Hamas leader doing on the eve of the massacre?

The Israeli military has released additional video footage showing the slain leader of the Islamist Hamas, Jihia al-Sinwar. The recordings do not show current images surrounding Sinwar’s killing, but rather scenes from the eve of the massacre carried out in Israel on October 7, 2023. The “Jerusalem Post” reported that the recordings were seized by the armed forces and the Shin Bet secret service a few months ago be.

The published compilation of scenes that are said to have taken place within three hours is three minutes long: You can see the gray-haired man repeatedly running up and down a narrow tunnel, barefoot, carrying bags or water bottles on the way out, and on the way back with empty hands.

At the beginning of the cut, Sinwar himself cannot be seen immediately; there are two boys in front of him who are running through the tunnel, which is completely dark in places, towards the camera. A girl and a woman walk behind Sinwar – according to the army, they are Sinwar’s family. At the end of the video, Sinwar and one of the boys carry something rectangular that is hidden under a blanket.

Yahya Sinwar apparently set up shop in the network of tunnels under the Gaza Strip

Army spokesman Nadav Shoschani wrote on the X platform: “He takes his television into his tunnel, hides among his civilians and prepares to watch his terrorists murder, kidnap and rape.”

Sinwar is considered the mastermind of the massacre in Israel, in which Islamist terrorists killed more than 1,200 people, abducted another 250 to the Gaza Strip and filmed their actions. Israel’s armed forces and secret services then began the hunt for the Hamas leader – and have been waging war against Hamas ever since. Sinwar was long suspected of being in the densely branched tunnel system under the sealed-off coastal area. He was killed a few days ago after he and two other armed men were discovered by soldiers by chance.