Israel reports “excellent results” in Gaza war. On the other hand, negotiations to release further hostages have so far remained fruitless. The overview.
While a new round of negotiations on a ceasefire and the release of more hostages in the Gaza war has apparently not yet achieved a breakthrough, Israel’s army believes it is following in the footsteps of the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip. The military released a video that appears to show Jihia al-Sinwar and relatives allegedly escaping in an underground Hamas tunnel.
If the photo is authentic, it would be the first images of Al-Sinwar since the beginning of the war. Where he and his command staff are today is unknown. “The hunt for Al-Sinwar will not end until we catch him, dead or alive,” said army spokesman Daniel Hagari. Meanwhile, according to media reports, senior representatives from the USA, Israel, Qatar and Egypt agreed at a meeting in Cairo to continue the talks on a new ceasefire that began on Tuesday for another three days.
Israel’s army: Al-Sinwar’s abandoned hideout found
The video released by Israel’s military was recorded on October 10 – three days after the start of the Gaza war – by a surveillance camera in one of Hamas’s tunnels, it said. In the short shot, a man can be seen from behind walking through the section of tunnel captured by the camera, whose silhouette resembles that of Al-Sinwar. According to the military, the other people seen are Al-Sinwar’s wife and children. The only person visible from the front is said to be Al-Sinwar’s brother Ibrahim. The authenticity of the video could not initially be independently confirmed. It supposedly shows how the Hamas warlord is currently “fleeing” with his relatives, it was said. However, it doesn’t look like it’s rushed.
Israel’s army also claims to have discovered Al-Sinwar’s hiding place. Hagari said that he lived with his family and some of his fighters in the tunnel section under the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, which has been under dispute for weeks, while the war raged above them, and published another short video of a tour of the alleged hiding place. In it, an Israeli soldier shows a room where Al-Sinwar lived, including a safe full of banknotes in Israeli and US currency worth millions. The information on the video could not initially be independently verified. The complex also included toilets and showers, a kitchen where supplies would have been kept for a long time, and a room for bodyguards with weapons and ammunition. Al-Sinwar and his people “ran away” when they heard that Israel’s military was approaching. “We are determined to catch him and we will catch him,” Hagari said.
Chief of General Staff rules out an early end to the war
Israel’s Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi has ruled out an early end to the war. “Our military results are outstanding,” he said at a news conference. “But there is still a long way to go before we can achieve the war goals.” In order to get closer to this, he said, the Hamas leadership around Al-Sinwar would have to be eliminated and even more commanders and fighters from the Islamist militia would have to be killed. The more than 130 Israeli hostages still held by Hamas must regain their freedom. Palestinian civilians who have fled, hundreds of thousands of whom are currently crowded together in the city of Rafah at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, should be able to return to safety. Israel’s army is currently planning an offensive on the city that borders Egypt and wants to evacuate the civilians there.
The Chief of General Staff also discussed the violent and successful rescue of two Israeli hostages in Rafah. Elite police and army commandos took two men held hostage from a house in Rafah on Monday night without them or the soldiers involved being injured. The armed forces carry out risky operations of this kind “every week”. “This time we succeeded. Other attempts failed or even failed; we will not stop trying and we will do it in a responsible manner,” Halevi continued.
Talks about a new ceasefire continue
Meanwhile, efforts for a new ceasefire and an exchange of more hostages for Palestinian prisoners in Israel continue. Top representatives from the United States, Israel, Qatar and Egypt were unable to reach an agreement at a meeting in Cairo, but agreed to extend the talks by three days, the New York Times reported, citing an unnamed Egyptian official . The tenor of the discussions was “positive”. They should now be continued by officials at a lower level, it was said. The Times of Israel newspaper also reported on an extension of the negotiations.
Israel’s delegation, led by the head of the Mossad secret service, David Barnea, has left Cairo again, the Israeli newspaper reported that night, citing a representative from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. There remains a gap between the positions of both parties to the conflict regarding the length of a possible ceasefire and the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released for each freed hostage, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Egyptian officials. Israel described Hamas’ conditions as unrealistic. Hamas representatives did not take part in the talks in Cairo.
Report: Israel without a new offer
Mossad chief Barnea had met there the day before with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and CIA intelligence chief William Burns. The Israeli delegation was there to “listen” to the talks in Cairo. No new offer has been made in Cairo, the Times of Israel newspaper reported. During a week-long ceasefire last November, 105 hostages were released in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners. Egypt, Qatar and the USA had already mediated during this ceasefire.
There are currently 134 people in the hands of Hamas, but according to Israeli estimates, at least 30 of them are no longer alive. According to media reports, the number of people killed could now be as high as 50. On Monday night, Israel’s military rescued two hostages in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. Terrorists from Hamas and other extremist Palestinian groups abducted the people from Israel to the Gaza Strip on October 7th. Around 1,200 people were killed on the Israeli side in the attack. It was the trigger for the war.
What is important today
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is visiting Israel again. According to the Foreign Office, the focus should be on the political path towards a new humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in order to create a window of opportunity for the release of further hostages and negotiations on a sustainable ceasefire. It will also address the difficult humanitarian situation in Rafah and the Gaza Strip as a whole. Meanwhile, talks between the mediating states about a new ceasefire are set to continue in Cairo.