RUTHLESS Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar evaded Israeli capture twice in just days by escaping through the terror network’s tunnels, it has been claimed.
Sinwar, dubbed “Gaza’s Bin Laden”, is being hunted in the south of the Strip in what Israel described as “the new capital of terror”.
Troops are massing in the southern city of Khan Younis where much of the recent fighting has been focused.
Israel’s defence minister’s office said it has “become the new capital of terror” and they “will not let up in our action there until we get to the senior Hamas officials”, the Times of Israel reports.
The statement could suggest the IDF is closing in on Sinwar, who has been reportedly hiding out in the city in recent weeks.
Troops have apparently reached tunnels in Hamas’ underground network where they believe Sinwar was hiding just before they stormed through.
The Hamas chief, according to Israel’s Channel 13 quoting intelligence sources, is reportedly on the move constantly in an attempt to dodge capture and assassination.
The terror group’s complicated network of tunnels, which runs underneath the Gaza Strip, is used for hiding militants, holding hostages and storing weaponry.
After unleashing carnage in Israel, thousands of cowardly Hamas terrorists retreated to the vast labyrinth and are thought to have taken with them dozens of abducted captives, including children snatched from their murdered parents.
Hidden up to 100ft below the surface, the entrances are enclosed under the floors of homes, mosques and schools – allowing fighters to move unseen between homes and alleyways within Gaza.
Now it seems Sinwar, dubbed “the head of the snake“, is using them to flee captivity.
Just weeks ago Israeli forces reportedly surrounded the home of the Hamas chief in the war-torn city.
He has long been a priority for Israel to hunt down thanks to his role in orchestrating the kidnapping and killing of thousands in the October 7 attacks.
Israel military also believe that many other top Hamas officials and several of the hostages are hiding in Khan Younis – the largest city in southern Gaza.
Sinwar spent 22 years in an Israeli prison for terrorism, murder and kidnap plots before he masterminded the October 7 massacre.
Wanted posters shared online, not by the IDF, appeared to offer a £25,000 reward to Palestinians who turned him in.
Israel’s military chiefs have vowed that their renewed offensive must not end until he is dead.
IDF forces have been pushing the ground operation in Gaza since the brief ceasefire weeks ago in an attempt to obliterate Hamas.
Defence chief Yoav Gallant also said the operation is set to “expand to additional areas”, according to the Times of Israel.
As the battles grow ever-increasingly more brutal inside the Gaza Strip, US President Biden expressed fears that Israel is starting to lose international support due to “indiscriminate bombing” and has urged the country to “be more careful”.
Hamas recently claimed 110 were killed in another strike on a refugee camp.
More than 19,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed so far – Gaza’s Hamas-controlled Health Ministry claims.
Israel disputes these figures – and US President Joe Biden previously said he had “no confidence” in them.
But Benjamin Netanyahu admitted Israel has “not been successful” in reducing civilian casualties.
It comes as Israel claims Hamas has been using recordings of children screaming “save me, save me!” to lure IDF troops into death traps.
An Israeli government spokesman told The Sun Hamas is waging “psychological warfare” on IDF soldiers on the ground.
