Report: IDF Closing in on Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is reportedly closing in on Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the Gaza Strip, as he runs out of places to hide and as other senior members of the terrorist organization are eliminated.

The Jerusalem Post reported Friday:

Sinwar is almost alone at the top of Hamas. His close friends in the senior military ranks of the organization, as well as the senior officials, have been eliminated or have disappeared: Mohammad Deif, Rafa’a Salama, Ahmed Ghandour, Raad Saad, and Ayman Nofal.

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The fact that Sinwar’s entire operational hub has disappeared makes it difficult for him, according to the IDF’s estimates, to move to hiding places, especially above ground.

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According to the source, Sinwar’s movement area, like that of other senior officials in the organization, is getting smaller and smaller.

Sinwar is now the leader of Hamas after the killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran last week.

Separately, the IDF announced Friday that it had killed a Hamas commander in Lebanon, Samer Mahmoud al-Haj.

Hamas is based in the Gaza Strip but has a presence in the Palestinian areas of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), as well as branches in Lebanon, Iraq, and elsewhere.

The elimination of Hamas leaders may put pressure on the group ahead of a new round of negotiations expected next week on a potential hostage and ceasefire deal that Hamas has thus far resisted.

Sinwar is thought to be using hostages as human shields to surround him and discourage Israeli attack, though if the IDF is close to him, he may be willing to trade their freedom for his life.

He has evaded Israel for 10 months, but Israel is determined to find him, dead or alive.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.