JERUSALEM – The terror mastermind behind the massacre of some 1,200 people by Hamas, including more than 30 Americans, is using human hostages to thwart Israeli soldiers who are trying to capture him in tunnels deep underground in Gaza. It is believed that it is used as a shield.
Shocking information about Hamas kingpin Yahya Sinwar was revealed by FOX News Channel Senior Strategic Analyst and former US Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Jack Keene in an interview with Sky News Australia on Thursday. It was done.
Hamas terrorist leader Yahya Sinwar speaks to the crowd. (Majidi Fatih/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“According to my sources, Shinwar, the Gaza No. 1 leader of the Hamas organization, 15-20 hostages are guarding him. and their families,” Keene said. “That is why they are taking hostages to ensure their own survival.” Israel is perfectly right to apply military pressure to force the release of the hostages. ”
Keene’s revelation echoes statements by Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi in an interview with Israeli news channel 12 on Saturday that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) nearly killed Sinwar. Mr Hanegbi said Mr Shinwar was “living on borrowed time” and said: “He will not emerge from this conflict alive.”
Israel is offering a $400,000 reward for capturing Shinwar. In December, Israel distributed leaflets in Gaza offering a reward for information on the location of Hamas’s top leadership.
Hanegbi said the IDF came close to killing Shinwar in recent months. “Looks like that’s difficult.” [Sinwar] make a decision [regarding a hostage agreement] That is likely to mean the end of Hamas’ rule,” Hanegbi said, “because the moment he gives up our hostages, which is a very important card for survival, it will not be easy for him. And that’s why things are delayed,” he added. ”
UN, human rights groups, media organizations rely on Hamas death toll from ‘systematic deception’: expert
Terrorist leader Yahya Sinwar waves during a rally. (Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua via Getty Images)
The nationality of the hostages being used by Shinwar in violation of international humanitarian law is unknown. Five Americans are believed to be among the more than 100 hostages taken by Hamas.
Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, and as part of the massacre of approximately 1,200 people, the terrorist organization took more than 200 hostages to Gaza. A November hostage deal secured the freedom of more than 100 hostages, mostly women and children, in exchange for Israel’s release of dozens of Palestinian terrorists.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a military operation into Rafah, the last major city controlled by Hamas and where Sinwar is believed to be hiding with his hostages. Israel’s security goal is also to destroy the tunnels between Egypt and Rafah that allow Hamas to smuggle weapons.
World Health Organization remains silent on Hamas’ use of Gaza hospital as terrorist base
Israel is offering a $400,000 reward for the capture of Yahya Sinwar. (Mohammed Talatene/Photo in partnership with Getty Images)
The Biden administration has previously opposed Israel’s war plan to defeat Hamas in Rafah, citing concerns about civilian deaths.
Hamas maintains four battalions and thousands of terrorist fighters in Rafah. Complex negotiations are unfolding in Cairo as Operation Rafah looms, potentially slowing Israel’s efforts to root out Hamas terrorists in the city, home to more than 1 million Palestinians.
David Wormser, former Vice President Dick Cheney’s senior advisor for nonproliferation and Middle East strategy, said of Sinwar’s use of hostages, “He holds hostages because he is making human life worthless.” For example, it would be nothing more than a soldier taking hostages.” Hiding behind a tree or rock under intense fire is not cowardice, but is just as a soldier is to a hostage as a soldier is to a rock. . ”
UN, human rights groups, media organizations rely on Hamas death toll from ‘systematic deception’: expert
Israeli officials said the IDF had come close to killing Shinwar in recent months. (Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu Agency, via Getty Images)
“It’s all part of a very calm and rational strategy. And it’s a very rational strategy, given that he has used hostages and human shields to control Israeli and U.S. policy. ” added Wurmser. “We consider it cruel, but it requires empathy, which he lacks, and is immoral. This means that it is the ultimate morality and the filter that determines whether an action is moral or not.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Yaakov Katz, a senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for People’s Policy and former editor-in-chief and current columnist for The Jerusalem Post, told Fox News Digital that Sinwar is cunning and ruthless.
“Sinwar has been playing Israel very wisely since October 7, at times appearing to understand Israel better than Israel itself. “Efforts to capture or kill him” ”
