Shafaq News/ The Israeli army is “convinced” Hamas’s leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, continued to hide “inside a labyrinthine network of tunnels” under Khan Yunis, the Washington Post reported on Monday afternoon.

Israeli, U.S., and Western intelligence officials told WP that even if the Hamas leader accused of planning the October 7 attack was located, the biggest challenge would be carrying out an operation without harming hostages that are kept nearby.

“It’s not about locating him, it’s about doing something” without risking the lives of the hostages, a senior Israeli official was quoted as saying about Sinwar.

U.S. officials told WP that they could concur with the Israeli assessment that Sinwar is hiding somewhere underneath Khan Yunis and surrounded himself with hostages as an “ultimate insurance policy.” Israeli officials said the military operations in Gaza will only end when he was captured, killed or no longer able to lead Hamas.

Another source, close to senior Israeli officials, told the Washington Post that getting rid of Sinwar would sever vital links between Hamas and its international network, adding "We know of course someone else would step into his shoes, but it would either lead to a split or a tremendously weakened Hamas.”

The report also included sources discussing the collaboration between Israeli and U.S intelligence agencies, but stressed that no American personnel were on the ground in Gaza, nor was Washington assisting Israel in striking the Hamas fighters and facilities.

Previous reports that Sinwar escaped to Rafah, or across the border to Egypt, were disputed as press allegations and nothing more.

However, the WP quoted sources that explained the tunnel network was a challenge to destroy. Nevertheless, the effort was described as a search for specific points that could render the passages inoperable, once destroyed.