Yahya Sinwar: Banknotes, weapons and ‘wife filmed with Birkin handbag’ inside the bunker of slain Hamas leader
Extraordinary footage of Yahya Sinwar’s elaborate network of tunnels has lifted the lid on how the architect of the October 7 massacre was able to thwart detection for so long.
Video released by Israel claimed to show the Hamas leader, a woman believed to be his wife and youngsters in football shirts thought to be their children making their way through the warren below Gaza.
The images are from the night before the atrocities a year ago in which Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 victims.
Separate footage, taken after Sinwar was killed last week, appeared to show a sophisticated underground set-up replete with a bathroom, kitchen and bedrooms for his family and their security guards.
They were able to live in comfort while civilians in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip above suffered.
Footage shows the family moving in – with one image of the woman carrying a handbag, believed to be a Birkin bag by French fashion giant Hermes and understood to cost “around £25,000 ($48,000)“.
Camera IconThe woman believed to be Yayha Sinwar’s wife carries a $48,000 Birkin bag. Credit: IDF
The Israeli Defence Forces said they found weapons and ammunition, food and drink plus “millions” of shekels.
Around 1 million of the Israeli currency equates to just over $400,000.
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It came as Israel’s bombing of Gaza continued, with scores more fatalities, while three more senior leaders of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group were also killed in Lebanon this weekend, further weakening their command structure.
Video released by Israel features a member of the IDF, his face blurred to protect his identity, walking a camera crew through Sinwar’s “main hideout” where “he, his family and his partners in crime hid in recent times”.
In the 90-second clip, he opens large, apparently sturdy doors to reveal separate toilet and shower facilities. Although basic, they appear clean, spacious and well-stocked with toiletries.
The video shows a large kitchen area containing a sink, fuel to make and heat meals and cleaning products. A bottle of soft drink and a tin of powdered milk are on a metal table.
The spokesman also points out sacks which he said carry the motif of UNRWA – the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees.
Along the tile-lined corridor, another room shows “where Sinwar’s security guards guarded him with weapons, ammunition, explosives and a lot of other weapons”, said the IDF spokesman.
The compact room contains some single beds with military fatigues placed on top. Sinwar’s private room, called “ugly” by the IDF, has a small safe with the door open to reveal wads of currency in plastic wallets.
Bundles of notes, including US dollars, were put on top by the IDF after they prised it open.
The spokesman said: “Everything was left here, they ran away, they heard that the IDF was getting close. They knew we were coming and ran away.”
Scanning the room, the film appears to show a patterned bedspread and a cabinet containing bottles of perfume.
The IDF soldier said: “He (Sinwar) lives here in a good way, with all his millions, while the civilians above ground are living in poverty and starving. This is how he lives. “
“He fled from here and left some of his millions behind.”
Separate footage appears to show Sinwar and his family moving in a day before the October 7 atrocities. It features two boys, one seemingly in a Barcelona football shirt and the other in a shirt for Saudi club Al-Nassr with the name of star player Ronaldo on the back, walking through the narrow tunnels, carrying backpacks.
They are followed by Sinwar walking barefoot also carrying bags and a woman in a hijab holding a designer handbag.
Camera IconThe IDF has released footage of Yahya Sinwar moving between underground tunnels, moving his believed children and wife. Credit: IDF
He appears to make his way in and out with belongings and bottles of water in plastic bags and holdalls. Sinwar was also seen carrying a pillow between his teeth.
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