A senior security official, in a confidential briefing, shared insights on the escalated efforts to locate Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas. The official revealed, “There is a significant intelligence effort underway to track down Sinwar,” emphasizing his misjudgment of the IDF’s strength and his shock at recent military actions in Shifa. …

In a separate high-ranking security discussion, it was claimed that the elimination of Sinwar could significantly alter the dynamics of hostage releases. The source noted, “A large intelligence operation is focused on Sinwar’s whereabouts,” highlighting the importance of this mission.

[One has to wonder whether Hamas’ terms for exchange will shift significantly now that the IDF has sent armored units to Khan Younis, the presumed fallback operational command for Sinwar. We’ll see, but the Israelis are now saying that only this pressure will force the release of the remaining hostages. I suspect that the Israelis are convinced that Sinwar’s sticking with the hostages as literal human shields at this stage. — Ed]