Israel and US officials hunt for Hamas leader Sinwar who remains elusive

The US has provided ground-penetrating radar to detect movement in the tunnel system, a technology Israeli officials have described as ‘priceless.’

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

US and Israeli security forces have joined forces in the search for Hamas leader and October 7th mastermind Yahya Sinwar, who is believed to be hiding in Gaza tunnels, the New York Times reports.

Shin Bet, Israel’s intelligence agency, and American spy agencies have worked for months intercepting Sinwar’s communications, which has become more difficult since he has switched from electronic devices to couriers to avoid detection through a digital footprint.

Sinwar is believed to be hiding in the complex tunnel network under Khan Younis, his birthplace.

On January 31st, the IDF raided a tunnel but barely missed the terror leader, who obviously left in haste since there was a million dollars lying on his desk.

The US has provided ground-penetrating radar to detect movement in the tunnel system, a technology Israeli officials have described as “priceless.”

However, some US sources told the New York Times that the intelligence sharing between the two countries has been ‘lopsided,” with the US giving Israel more information than the other way around.

Those in contact with Sinwar say communicating with him is much more complex, and to Egyptian and Qatari officials negotiating the hostage deal, the terror leader often takes much longer to respond than in the past.

One of the reasons Defense Minister Yoav Gallant urged Israel to keep electricity running in Gaza was to facilitate spying on Sinwar when he communicated through electric devices.

Both Israel and the US have an interest in finding Sinwar, Israel, so it can claim victory in defeating Hamas and the US because it has listed Hamas as an official terror group.

“We’ve devoted considerable effort and resources to the Israelis for the hunt for the top leadership, particularly Sinwar,” said Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser. “We’ve had people in Israel sitting in the room with the Israelis working this problem set. And obviously we have a lot of experience hunting high-value targets.”

Gaza tunnelsUS IntelligenceYahya Sinwar