Intelligence sources have confirmed reports that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has left his hiding spot and walked the streets of Gaza, according to the Hostage Families Forum.
The forum added that "his leaving the depths of the tunnels, where the hostages still are, is the picture of Israeli failure, whether it was photographed or not."
The statement comes after a Hamas official told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Sinwar walked the streets of Gaza. "He is not cut off, rather he does his job as the leader of the movement on the ground."
The official added: "Recently he visited areas where there were battles between the resistance and the occupation forces, and met fighters from the movement above ground and not in the tunnels."
According to the official, whose name was not published, the Israeli reports that Hamas only offered to release 20 hostages are incorrect.
He also claimed that the captive soldiers and officers are "being held in high-security locations, and are very far from the hand of the occupation - it is impossible to reach them under any circumstances."