Is Sinwar still in Gaza? That’s the question raised by an article in a Saudi newspaper that claims to have the information from an Israeli source. Of course, it’s all speculation. But raising the possibility will definitely result in a lot of tongues wagging. Expect the Egyptians to deny the possibility. They have an interest in keeping all Gazans out of Egypt. The Egyptian resistance to receiving Palestinians is strong enough for them to be building new barriers to obstruct the possibility. They even moved Egyptian Army tanks to reinforce it (after consultation with Israel) The fact that there was once a thriving smuggling operation via tunnels from Egyptian Sinai into Gaza just lends more credence to the possibility.
Israeli forces, so far, have found lots of evidence that Hamas leaders once inhabited parts of the tunnel complex under Rafah and Khan Yunis adds fuel to the fire. So far, the Hamas leaders have not been found. There is also lots of evidence that Israeli hostages were also kept in homes and tunnels in southern Gaza. But neither hostages nor bodies have been recovered recently. Could they, too, have been spirited away into Egyptian Sinai? As I said, this is great for grist for the rumor mills, but for now, very short of hard evidence needed for proof, Not finding Hamas leaders (or any more hostages) isn’t sufficient to show they aren’t still somewhere in Rafah. If they are still underground, the IDF will very likely locate them in the near future.
Wetherhorn 