Israeli President Isaac Herzog stated that it is essential to reach Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza, "alive or dead" to be able to recover Israeli prisoners, adding that "everything begins and ends with Sinwar." According to the Jerusalem Post, this was mentioned in a speech by the Israeli president during the inauguration of an academic center in Jerusalem on Tuesday. He continued: "He is the one who made the decision for the October attack and seeks to escalate the regional situation and sow discord between us and the rest of the world."
He reiterated that "the entire world and our region must know that the responsibility lies with him (Sinwar) and him alone; it will not succeed, we will not allow that." Herzog confirmed: "There is no option; we must continue to fight, and we must reach Sinwar alive or dead" in order to restore all prisoners.
It is noted that on February 29, American reports citing informed sources indicated that the head of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, "is planning to draw Israel into an operation in Rafah," suggesting that "he will emerge victorious in the end." It was pointed out that "Sinwar conveyed a message to the movement's leadership in Qatar stating: 'The Israelis are where we want them to be.'"
The reports also mentioned that a meeting was held earlier in February where the top Hamas leadership discussed concerns that "the movement may lose the ground battle in Gaza with the invasion of its strongholds and the killing of its members, but Sinwar believed otherwise." Israeli and American officials agree that Yahya Sinwar is still hiding in tunnels in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, and surrounding himself with Israeli captives, "using them as human shields," according to a Washington Post report about a month ago from Israeli, American, and Western intelligence sources.
The biggest challenge, even more than locating Sinwar’s hiding place, is carrying out an operation to kill or capture him in a way that does not endanger the hostages, as stated by a senior Israeli official, who confirmed there is a possibility of finding him but emphasized that "it is not about locating him, but rather doing something without risking the lives of the hostages."
According to the newspaper’s report, the United States is also involved in the search for Sinwar, but with caution. Sources familiar with the details said that analysts from the American military intelligence agency are helping Israel map Hamas tunnels using "powerful analytical techniques" that combine various data outputs. They are also assisting in analyzing encrypted communications and information extracted from computer hard drives, as well as processing information obtained through interrogation and investigation.
