Press Briefing by IDF Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, February 13th , 2024

Below Is a Translated Readout of the Briefing:

The IDF and the Israel Security Agency (ISA) are fighting in the Khan Yunis area, the capital of Hamas in southern Gaza, which can now be seen on the map. There is Khan Yunis of the upper area, a vast and complex area consisting of hills of dense and crowded areas, multi-story buildings, villages, and agricultural lands.

At the beginning of this month, we arrested family members from the first circle of the senior leadership of Hamas’ Military Wing in the Gaza Strip and the close surroundings of Yahya Sinwar on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activity. The detainees were transferred to ISA investigation, among the detainees were the father of the Brigade Commander, Rafa Salama, the Commander of the Khan Yunis Brigade, and the son of Husni Hamdan, Head of one of Hamas’ formations.
A leader of one of Hamas’ formations. They provide us with significant intelligence in the ISA investigation.

There is also a lower Khan Yunis, which is a network of underground tunnels spanning dozens of kilometers, at depths of dozens of meters below the surface. In recent months, we have been using a unique combat method in this area. A combined operation both above and below the ground simultaneously using special units, advanced technology, and precise intelligence led by the 98th Division and the Southern Command. The underground maze beneath Khan Yunis consists of several types of tunnels, infrastructure, and routes.

There are tunnels that serve as hiding places for Hamas terrorists, and there are tunnels designed to enable the movement of terrorists between different parts of the Gaza Strip. At the heart of the tunnels, at the very core of Hamas' tunneling network, lies the organization's strategic underground complex. This consists of several underground compounds, dozens of meters under the ground, designated for the stay of senior Hamas operatives, routine and emergency combat management, holding hostages, hiding funds, intelligence materials and more. We are focused on locating these compounds.

We have reached most of them and will continue to search the area to locate those that remain. As part of the operational activity of IDF soldiers and ISA in the area, we operated on a compound under the cemetery in the Bani Suheila area, one of the areas in the heart of Khan Yunis, where there were bedrooms for senior Hamas operatives beneath a cemetery and an office belonging to the Commander of the Eastern Battalion in the Khan Yunis Brigade. From there, they managed the attack on October 7th. In the same area, we also operated on a compound where hostages were held at different times and we published this intelligence information.

In recent days, through the activity of special units, we uncovered a tunnel, dozens of meters underground, where we also found a video from a Hamas security camera installed in the tunnel. The leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the chief murderer, Yahya Sinwar, was seen fleeing with his children and one of his wives through the tunnel network, led by his brother, Ibrahim Sinwar. This footage, taken on October 10th at the beginning of the war, shows him escaping with his family underground through a tunnel to one of the pre-built safe complexes. This video of Sinwar is a result of the manhunt we are conducting for him. The hunt will not stop until we capture him, dead or alive.

We are determined to capture him, and we will capture him. During further searches, we reached a compound where he was staying underground with other senior operatives, hiding while the war is happening above them. The senior Hamas operatives are staying in the compound in good conditions. They have food and bathrooms, alongside safes with personal fortunes amounting to millions of NIS and dollars. We are close to dismantling the military framework of Hamas in Khan Yunis. The 98th Division is searching and eliminating terrorists along with the special units and the infantry and armor brigades.

We continue to detain terrorists, interrogate them in the Intelligence Directorate (J2) and the ISA, and uncover more and more intelligence. The most important thing for us, first and foremost in intelligence, is information about the hostages in order to make decisions and prepare operations like the rescue operation we carried out last night. Beyond that, information about the leadership of Hamas and senior Hamas operatives is crucial to us. This intelligence, along with additional findings, reveals to us additional strongholds and leads.

Even tonight, we continue to search and operate in Khan Yunis. I want to clarify - a video like this or any other is not what's really important. What's important is the intelligence we are uncovering. What's important is that it will enable us to reach Hamas’ senior operatives and the hostages, and we are determined to get to them. Also tonight, we do not forget the 134 hostages still held captive by Hamas. We are thinking of you all the time. We are working around the clock in all efforts to bring you home, and we will not stop until we succeed.

In the north, under the Northern Command, in the last day, IDF soldiers in the air and on the ground eliminated nine terrorists in Lebanese territory. We continue to strike with all our might against Hezbollah's capabilities and to push it back from the border area. Every Hezbollah terrorist attempting to act against the State of Israel should know that we will strike him. He will not be immune. Throughout the day, we identified several launches towards Israeli territory from Lebanon. Unfortunately, in one of these launches, two civilians, a mother and her son, were severely injured. We will continue to act decisively on the northern border to restore security.