Israel has offered a large bounty to capture the leaders of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
On the 14th (local time), Israel distributed leaflets in the Gaza Strip and offered a bounty of approximately 1.3 billion won to the Hamas leadership, the Israeli media Tazfit News Agency reported.
The bounty was set at about 500 million won for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, and about 400 million won for his younger brother, Muhammad Shinwar, who commands Hamas forces in the southern Gaza Strip.
In addition to the two men, a bounty of approximately 250 million won was placed on Rafa Salameh Khan, commander of the Younis Brigade, and a bounty of approximately 130 million won was placed on Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif.
A photo of a leaflet distributed on social media shows the phone number of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Telegram contact information. The Israeli military promised to protect the identity of the informant.
Israeli forces surrounded Sinwar’s home in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip on the 6th, but were unable to arrest him. The Israeli military believes that Sinwar has taken refuge somewhere in the Khan Younis underground tunnels and is tracking him.
Meanwhile, Sinwar joined Hamas shortly after its founding and was imprisoned in Israel on charges of murdering two Israelis in 1988. He was sentenced to life in prison at the time, but was released as part of a prisoner exchange in 2011.
After returning to Gaza, Sinwar later expanded his influence within Hamas and was elected as Hamas’ supreme leader in 2017, replacing current Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner explained that Sinwar “commands the entire Hamas, government, and military organizations” and “was the person who ultimately gave the green light for this division to be launched.”
Source: Donga
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