TEL AVIV: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is in search of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who is considered as the mastermind behind the October 7 massacre and mayhem of Israelis and foreign nationals in South Israel, an IDF official said on Saturday.

Sources in the IDF told IANS that the Israel army has specific intelligence inputs that Sinwar had escaped from Northern Gaza in a humanitarian vehicle convoy and that he was hiding in the Khan Younis area in Southern Gaza Strip.

The IDF is carrying out raids at several locations in the Khan Younis area and is not sparing any tunnels in search for Sinwar.

Israel Defence Minister Yoav Gallant had earlier openly said that the Israeli army would hunt down Yahya Sinwar and kill him.