The IDF on Sunday issued a video of Muhammad Sinwar, the right-hand man and brother of Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar, being driven in a car through the massive four-kilometer long and 50-meter deep “strategic” level tunnel it revealed earlier Sunday.
In a silent video, Sinwar can be seen giving instructions to the driver as they travel through the tunnel at a significant speed in a fairly modern-looking vehicle.
The video is one of multiple pieces of intelligence evidence that Israel has that Muhammad was personally involved in developing the tunnel.
The tunnel is the largest and longest in Gaza that the IDF has ever found, directly linking the tip of northern Gaza to Jabalia toward the southern end of northern Gaza while running almost exclusively through civilian areas.
Sinwar has not been hiding in the tunnel since the war started.
Mohammed Sinwar, Gaza's chief brother and right-hand man
Some have said that though Yahya is the Gaza chief, Muhammad is his most important operator and would have difficulty controlling Hamas at the same level without his brother.
In addition, the IDF said that Hamas terrorists were using the tunnel to attack the IDF throughout the current war and even as recently as a few days ago. Terrorists who attacked the IDF from the tunnel a few days ago were killed in battle with the IDF.
The IDF first started to identify and clear the tunnel over a month ago, but it was so extensive and had so many levels and obstacles, such as blast doors, that it was not ready to be presented to the media until recent days.
It was discovered by a mix of the special ant-tunnel Yahalom Unit, engineers, and regular infantry working together with various technologies and intelligence to map out its full breadth.
One of the shafts from the tunnel comes as close as 400 meters from the Erez Crossing.
Besides that close point, the tunnel splits into a myriad of sub-tunnels, which are outfitted with heavy deeper tunnel-digging machinery that the IDF has not previously encountered.
In addition, the tunnel has a variety of electricity connections, plumbing, communications, vehicles, extensive weaponry, and blast doors designed to block or slow any progress by the IDF.
IDF estimates that special tunnel units were brought from Khan Younis to expand the tunnel deep into northern Gaza using millions of dollars of investment.
The IDF has not found any signs of Israeli hostages having been held in the tunnel as it did at Rantisi Hospital.
However, since the Rantisi Hospital discovery of traces of hostages having been held there, it seems that Hamas has become more careful about removing such traces.
Also, if the hostages were merely moved through the tunnel once to get them from northern to southern Gaza, there might not be as many traces as at Rantisi Hospital, where it appears they were held in a single spot for an extended period.
IDF Yahalom commander and Col. Chaim Cohen said, “we have located a strategic tunnel which is so extensive that it indicates it was to be used for a large-scale invasion of the Israeli Gaza corridor.”
Cohen added that both of the Sinwar brothers had decided to invest huge amounts of resources in the terror tunnel instead of in schools and other institutions, which could have benefitted Gazan civilians.
“We will continue to pursue Hamas terrorists above and below ground, in every place, and there will be no place,” that is safe for them to hide, he said.