This Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are carrying out an operation focused on surrounding the residence of Yahya Sinwar, leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu highlighted in a video statement that Israeli forces have the ability to reach any location in Gaza and that they are, in fact, already surrounding Sinwar’s house.

“His house is not his fortress, and he can escape, but it’s only a matter of time before we get him,” he said.

Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht, spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, had previously announced that they had Sinwar in their sights. “He’s a dead man walking (...) We will get to him, however long it takes… and this war could be long,” he stated.

Who is Yahya Sinwar?

Yahya Sinwar is a 60-year-old Hamas leader nicknamed “The Butcher of Khan Yunis” by Israel. Sinwar was born in the Khan Yunis refugee camp, southwest of the Gaza Strip, and is known for the cruel torture methods he uses against both Israeli and Palestinian enemies.

Sinwar is credited with being responsible for the massacre of Israeli civilians by Hamas militants on October 7, which killed more than a thousand people.

The latest information on the whereabouts of the terrorist leader indicated that the man was in the organization’s extensive underground network of tunnels. This, after one of the first Israeli hostages freed by Hamas, Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, revealed that she met Sinwar in a tunnel under Gaza during her captivity and said she questioned the Hamas leader about his actions.

“I asked him how he is not ashamed to do such a thing to people who all these years have supported peace (...) He didn’t answer. He was silent,” said Lifshitz.