U.S. intelligence officials believe that Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, is hiding in underground tunnels in the Khan Younis area. According to an unnamed source quoted by American media, CIA Director Bill Burns also mentioned in a closed meeting over the weekend that the Hamas leader is facing increasing pressure from the military wing leaders of the armed group to accept a hostage ceasefire agreement and end the war, according to the "Times of Israel." The newspaper reported that the CIA declined to comment on the information mentioned in the report.
In May, two officials told the "Times of Israel" that recent intelligence assessments favored the presence of field leader Yahya Sinwar underneath the Khan Younis area, about 5 miles north of Rafah. Israel has made the elimination of Sinwar a key element of its goal to destroy Hamas. In February, the Israeli army released footage of what it claimed was Sinwar walking through a tunnel with several family members, which marked the first apparent sighting of him since he went into hiding before the devastating October 7 attack he was accused of orchestrating in southern Israel, leading the Israeli army to launch a destructive military war on the Gaza Strip for nearly 9 months.
