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Hamas's Gaza Leader Sinwar Was Sure He Was Winning. Now the Momentum Has Shifted
(Times of Israel) Lazar Berman - "We have the Israelis right where we want them," Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar told other Hamas leaders, according to a June report in the Wall Street Journal. But something shifted in recent weeks as the IDF campaign in Gaza has been expanding in Gaza City and Rafah. It is also clear that Hamas's dream of rousing the West Bank to a third intifada has failed, as the number of terrorist attacks is down drastically from the year before Oct. 7. Much of that is due to the IDF taking off its gloves against Hamas and other terrorist groups in the West Bank. Moreover, the Palestinian Authority understands what a Hamas-led future would mean for its own survival and has been sharing intelligence with Israel and arresting terrorists in West Bank cities. Israel still has not confirmed whether it killed Hamas's elusive military leader Mohammad Deif in Saturday's airstrike. Even if Deif turns out to have escaped, the fact that Israel knew exactly where he was and determined that bombing the compound was legitimate - even with civilians in the area, because of the essential military value of the target - should give Sinwar further reason to worry about his own fate. Israel's intelligence on Gaza is only improving the more its soldiers map out tunnels and interrogate captured Hamas fighters.