Yahwa Sinwar, the notorious Hamas leader responsible for the massacre of nearly 1,200 individuals, including over 30 Americans, is reportedly using hostages as human shields to deter Israeli forces from capturing him in a tunnel beneath Gaza.
Gen. Jack Keane, a senior strategic analyst for FOX News Channel and former vice chief of staff for the U.S. army, disclosed this alarming information about Sinwar during an interview with Sky News Australia on Thursday. "My sources tell me that Sinwar, who is the number one leader in Gaza of the Hamas organization, has 15-20 hostages protecting him and his family," Keane stated. "Thats why they have these hostages, to guarantee their survival. Israel is absolutely right in putting military pressure on them to force the release of the hostages."
Keane's revelation aligns with statements made by Israels national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, in an interview with Israeli news outlet Channel 12 on Saturday. Hanegbi stated that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) nearly assassinated Sinwar, adding that Sinwar "is living on borrowed time," and "he wont emerge alive from this confrontation."
Israel has issued a bounty of $400,000 for Sinwar's capture. In December, leaflets were dropped over Gaza by Israel, offering rewards for information about the location of Hamas top leadership.
Hanegbi also revealed that the IDF had been close to killing Sinwar in recent months. "It is apparently hard for [Sinwar] to make a decision [regarding a hostage agreement] that is likely to mean the end of Hamas rule," Hanegbi noted. "Because the minute he gives up on the highly significant card for his survival, our hostages, its not easy for him, and thats why things are delayed."
The nationality of the hostages being used by Sinwar, a clear violation of international humanitarian law, remains uncertain. It is believed that five Americans are among the more than 100 hostages held by Hamas.
Hamas launched an invasion into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and as part of its brutal slaughter of approximately 1,200 people, the terrorist group took over 200 hostages into Gaza. A hostage deal in November secured the release of more than 100 hostages, mostly women and children, in exchange for Israels release of several Palestinian terrorists.
Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced a military operation into Rafah the last major city under Hamas control and where Sinwar is believed to be hiding with his hostages. The operation also aims to destroy the tunnels between Egypt and Rafah that facilitate Hamas' weapons smuggling.
The Biden administration has so far opposed Israels war plan to defeat Hamas in Rafah due to concerns about civilian casualties.
Hamas currently maintains four battalions in Rafah, along with thousands of terrorist fighters. As the Rafah operation looms, intricate negotiations are underway in Cairo, potentially slowing Israels efforts to eradicate Hamas terrorists in the city, which is home to over a million Palestinians.
David Wurmser, a former senior adviser for nonproliferation and Middle East strategy for former Vice President Dick Cheney, commented on Sinwars use of hostages. "The holding of hostages since he values their lives nil is nothing more than, say, a soldier taking cover behind a tree or rock when under heavy fire. It is not cowardice, but an intelligent and primordial impulse. He has no more empathy for a hostage than a soldier does for the rock. Indeed, the same with the innocent Palestinian civilians."
"All is part of a very sober and rational strategy. And given the amount he has taken control of Israeli and U.S. policy with hostages and human shields, its a very rational strategy," Wurmser added. "We consider it cruel but that requires empathy, which he is devoid of, and immoral, but that implies that advancing Islam at all costs is the ultimate morality and the filter for determining whether an action is moral or not."
Yaakov Katz, a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute and former editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post, described Sinwar as cunning and ruthless. "Sinwar has played Israel very smartly since Oct. 7, sometimes seeming as if he understands Israel better than Israel understands itself. He has used the hostages effectively to achieve his goals and has managed to keep himself always a step ahead of the IDF in its efforts to capture or kill him."
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