In a report that contradicts the declared Israeli justification for the attack on Rafah in the context of the war on Gaza, the American newspaper “The New York Times” quoted American officials as saying that the leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement “Hamas” in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, “is not present” in the city located south of the Strip.

Israel says that “eliminating” Sinwar is an essential element in its goal of “destroying” Hamas. The appearance of the movement's leader in the Gaza Strip on the ground, inspecting the fighters, sparked a widespread wave of discontent in Israel, due to the occupation's failure to achieve the goals of the war on Gaza that has been ongoing for nearly seven months.

The American officials, who spoke to the newspaper on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence assessments, stated that Israeli intelligence agencies agree with the American assessment that Sinwar and other leaders of the movement are not in Rafah.

They added that spy agencies in the United States and Israel believe that Sinwar never left the tunnel network under Khan Yunis in the northern Gaza Strip, which is located at a depth of 15 floors underground.

American officials believe that Israeli intelligence agencies have better information about Sinwar's location, they claim, but they insisted that the United States share with Israel the information it knows.

The Israeli newspaper "The Times of Israel" previously quoted officials familiar with the matter, saying that recent intelligence assessments indicate the presence of Sinwar in underground tunnels in the Khan Yunis area, about five miles north of Rafah. While a third official confirmed that Sinwar is still in the Gaza Strip.

"Out of reach"

In addition, the New York Times indicated that Sinwar and his deputy, commander of the military wing of Hamas, Muhammad al-Deif, are still out of reach, despite repeated allegations by Israeli officials that the Israeli occupation army was tightening its noose around them.

Since the beginning of the war on Gaza, the United States has been providing Israel with intelligence information about Hamas officials, including Sinwar and Deif.

The New York Times quoted American and Israeli officials as saying that Sinwar and other Hamas leaders are not present in Rafah at all, noting that the American administration informed the Israelis that pursuing Sinwar should not be used as a justification for the attack on Rafah.

The newspaper noted that Sinwar and his deputy, Al-Deif, “are still out of reach” despite repeated allegations from Israeli officials that the occupation army was tightening its noose around them.

Source: Arab TV