Israeli Forces Surround Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar's Likely Hideout

Israeli forces are closing in on the location of Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, Israel's military has suggested, as it moves into the "third phase" of ground operations in the devastated Gaza Strip.

The Chief of the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) General Staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, was quoted by The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday as saying that the IDF has encircled southern Gaza and its main city, Khan Younis, where multiple top officials have said Sinwar is hiding, though the outlet said there was no precise timeline for capturing or killing him.

"[Yahya] Sinwar is the address," Halevi said in a brief clip posted by the IDF to social media.

The IDF declined to comment to Newsweek on the reports concerning IDF operations linked to Sinwar's possible location and Khan Younis.

Israeli forces moving through the Gaza Strip, which Hamas had controlled since 2007, are pressing on with the "third phase" of ground operations in the territory, Halevi added.

Israeli ground operations have been ongoing for weeks, stopped briefly by a ceasefire to release Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners that fell apart earlier this month. Israeli forces have been working their way through the Strip southwards, and Halevi said the IDF was now operating in Hamas strongholds in southern Gaza, like the city of Khan Younis.

The increased military operations in southern Gaza have prompted concerns over the deepening humanitarian crisis in the Strip. "My humanitarian colleagues have described the situation as apocalyptic," the United Nations human rights chief, Volker Turk, said on Tuesday. "In these circumstances, there is a heightened risk of atrocity crimes."

On Tuesday, Israel said its forces had experienced "the most intense day since the beginning of the ground operation," with an IDF commander saying Israeli troops were now "in the heart of Khan Younis" as well as the northern Gazan areas of Jabaliya and Shejaiya.

Following the shock attacks on October 7, Sinwar—who heads up the political wing of Hamas—quickly disappeared.

"This abominable attack was decided upon by Yahya Sinwar," Halevi said in the wake of the beginning of the bloody, still-unfinished new wave of violence between Hamas and Israel.

"He is responsible for multiple terrorist attacks against Israelis, including the deadly Hamas Massacre on October 7th," Israel's foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

Sinwar was born in a refugee camp in Khan Younis, and Israel has amplified his nickname of the "Butcher of Khan Younis."

Israel has been pursuing high-up Hamas officials, and in the early hours of Wednesday, the IDF said it had killed "several Hamas commanders and operatives" belonging to the group's second-largest brigade, Northern Gaza Strip Brigade. Another four battalion commanders in the biggest brigade, the Gaza Brigade, were also killed, the IDF said.

Representatives for Hamas said on Wednesday that its fighters had targeted four Israeli soldiers in the east of Khan Younis, although Newsweek could not independently verify this. Hamas fighters had targeted a residence in eastern Khan Younis containing an unspecified number of Israeli soldiers with "an anti-personnel shell and machine guns," the representatives had said earlier on Wednesday.

Update 12/06/2023 at 7:15 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.