Report: Hamas leader in Gaza met fighters, inspected battle sites

The leader of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, Yehya al-Sinwar, has recently inspected areas that saw clashes between Hamas and Israeli forces, a senior official in the movement told the Qatar-owned Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper.

Al-Sinwar has been leading the movement in the field and reports about him "isolated in the tunnels" are only claims by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his agencies "to cover up for their failure in achieving the goals declared to the Israeli street and his allies," the official said.

Al-Sinwar recently met some of the movement's fighters on the ground - not in the tunnels - and also briefed Hamas' leaders abroad and provided them "with accurate numbers and field report on the resistance's strength and ability to confront the occupation forces," the source added.

Israel says it believes the Hamas leadership, including al-Sinwar, are hiding in underground tunnels in the Gaza Strip.