Yahya Sinwar, now Hamas’s overall leader, has “dressed as a woman” while hiding among Gaza’s populace outside the terror group’s tunnel network in the Gaza Strip, the UK’s Daily Express reported on Sunday, citing Israeli intelligence sources.
The New York Times on Sunday, citing American and Israeli officials, reported that Sinwar may have left tunnels in which he had been hiding on a number of occasions over the last year.
Sinwar has reportedly been moving from place to place in the Gaza Strip to stay ahead of Israeli efforts to hunt him down.
Sinwar now Hamas's most senior leader
Since his appointment to head Hamas’s political bureau after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, Sinwar has been the Islamist organization’s undisputed leader of both its political and military wings.
In August, speaking to Maariv, one Israeli security source estimated that Sinwar was running out of places to hide as the Israeli offensive in the Strip cut away at Hamas’s leadership and continued to advance in Gaza.
Sinwar is believed to be relying on human couriers to receive information and send instructions, the Times noted.
“Sinwar is said to no longer trust electronic communications, fearing that the Israeli army will discover his location and kill him,” the Emirati Al-Ain reported earlier this month.
London-based Asharq al-Awsat reported that Sinwar is insisting that his life be spared as part of ceasefire deal. In July, the IAF targeted the head of Hamas’s military wing, Mohammad Deif, who had survived seven previous assassination attempts, and later confirmed his death. In the same strike the IAF also eliminated Khan Yunis Brigade commander Rafa’a Salameh.