Millions of dollars found inside tunnel where Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar hid after massacre

In the days after Oct 7, Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, hid in a well-stocked tunnel under the city of Khan Younis with his wife, children – and millions of dollars in cash.

Yahya Sinwar was captured on CCTV fleeing through a tunnel under Khan Younis. Picture; IDF.

In the days after the October 7 massacre, Hamas’ leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar, hid in a tunnel under the southern city of Khan Younis with his wife, children – and millions of dollars in cash.

The terror leader was captured on Hamas’ own surveillance cameras fleeing through a network of tunnels on October 10, just three days after militants slaughtered 1200 people in southern Israel and captured hundreds more.

The video, obtained by the Israeli Defence Forces, shows Sinwar’s brother Ibrahim leading the family through the tunnel passage.

Sinwar brings up the rear of the group, carrying a bag and wearing Adidas shoes.

The IDF said that although he was filmed from behind, they were able to identify the Hamas leader by his ears.

Spotted: Yahya Sinwar running away and hiding in his underground terrorist tunnel network as Gazan civilians suffer above ground under the rule of Hamas terrorism.

There is no tunnel deep enough for him to hide in. pic.twitter.com/KLjisBFq1f

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) February 13, 2024

In a press conference called to air the footage, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari confirmed the footage showed “the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the chief murderer Yahya Sinwar fleeing with his children and one of his wives through the network of tunnels.

“In the footage, which was taken on October 10, at the beginning of the war, he escaped with his family underground to one of the safe accommodation complexes he had built in advance,” Rear Adm. Hagari added.

“We are determined to capture him – and we will capture him.”

The well-stocked kitchen in the runnel where Yahya Sinwar hid with his family. Picture: IDF.

A separate video of the tunnel where Sinwar and other Hamas leaders hid in the wake of the massacre shows a series of rooms including two bathrooms, a well-equipped kitchen, and a sleeping area with uniforms spread out on a bed. It also shows a room which the IDF said was Sinwar’s private room, and which holds a safe in which they said they found millions of shekels and dollars.

“Following searches, we arrived at the compound where (Sinwar) was staying with other senior officials, hiding underground, while the war was going on above him,” Rear Adm. Hagari told reporters.

“Senior Hamas officials resided in the compound in good conditions. They have food and bathrooms, along with safes with personal funds of millions of shekels and dollars in cash.”

Millions of shekels and dollars were found in the tunnel safe. Picture: IDF.

Sinwar 60, became Hamas’ political leader in Gaza in 2017 and works closely with Hamas’s military wing. Known as the “butcher of Khan Younis” for his ruthless pursuit of Palestinian collaborators, in the days after October 7 he warned Israel the massacre was “just a rehearsal.”

“The leaders of the occupation [Israel] should know, Oct. 7 was just a rehearsal,” he said.

The tunnel in which he was hiding is part of a major network of passages raided by the IDF under a cemetery in the Bani Suheila area of Khan Younis, the Times of Israel reports.

The sleeping room where uniforms were spread out on the beds. Picture; IDF.

Rear Adm. Hagari said the tunnels contained “bedrooms of senior Hamas officials and the office of the commander of the Khan Younis Brigade’s Eastern Battalion, from where he directed the attack on October 7.”

He said the network also connects to tunnels where hostages were held.

“One video or another is not what really matters. What is important is the intelligence that will allow us to reach senior Hamas officials and the hostages. The hunt for Sinwar will not stop, until we catch him, dead or alive,” he said.

The IDF spokesman said troops had also detained family members of senior Hamas commanders and of Sinwar.

“In the Shin Bet interrogations, they are providing us with a lot of intelligence,” he said.

The IDF released the videos as Israel plans a ground invasion inside the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have fled to escape fighting.

Israel claims it is developing a plan to evacuate civilians but is unable to say where they could go.