Hamas Leader Yehya Sinwar's calls detected, location still unknown

Shafaq News/ Calls from Hamas leader Yehya Sinwar inside tunnels were detected by Israel with the help of US surveillance equipment, without pinpointing his location, the New York Times reported on Monday.

“Both countries have poured vast resources into trying to find Mr. Sinwar,” the newspaper said, based on interviews with more than two dozen officials in Israel and the US.

After October 7, Israeli military intelligence and the Shin Bet formed a unit solely dedicated to locating Sinwar. The CIA also created a task force, while the Pentagon sent special operations forces to Israel to advise the Israeli forces on the impending Gaza conflict.

“The United States has also provided ground-penetrating radar to Israel to help in the hunt for him and other Hamas commanders,” the American newspaper stated, affirming that this radar was used to map hundreds of miles of tunnels beneath Gaza, along with new images and intelligence from captured Hamas fighters and a large collection of documents, to create a more detailed picture of the tunnel network.

Additionally, US and Israeli officials confirmed that Sinwar has long abandoned electronic communications and has so far evaded complex intelligence dragnet. “He is believed to stay in touch with the organization he leads through a network of human couriers.”

“How that system works remains a mystery.”

The newspaper further confirmed since the war began, Sinwar has repeatedly exited the tunnels undetected and was only spotted upon returning.

In the first weeks of the war, “Mr. Sinwar still used cellular and satellite phones — made possible by cell networks in the tunnels — and from time to time spoke to Hamas officials in Doha. American and Israeli spy agencies were able to monitor some of those calls but were not able to pinpoint his location,” the New York Times pointed out.

In this context, Israeli, Qatari, Egyptian and American officials affirmed, “Communicating with Mr. Sinwar has become more difficult.”

“He used to respond to messages within days, but the officials said that it has taken much longer to get a response from him in recent months, and that some of his deputies at times have been his proxies in those discussions.”

Notably, Mr. Sinwar, 61, became Hamas's top political leader in early August, following the Israeli assassination of the group's previous leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran.