The General is one of Israel's highest commanders on site in the Gaza War. Now he tells in a TV interview about the hunt for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the Palestinian area's tunnel system.
We were close. We came to his place, an underground facility, says Goldfuss to TV channel Keshet 12.
It was "hot", adds the General, and gets the question what he means.
There were loads of money. The coffee was still warm. Weapons were scattered around.
The Brain Behind
So it was just minutes after his escape?
Minutes, actually, answers Goldfuss.
Sinwar has for several years been the top leader of the Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Together with commander Mohammad Dayf, he is believed to have been the brain and architect behind the major terrorist attack into Israel last October, which became the start of the current war.
Since both Dayf and Hamas' overall leader Ismail Haniya were recently killed, Sinwar has taken over as top leader. The 62-year-old has been called The Butcher from Khan Yunis, and is described by both Israel and Palestinian sources as cruel and uncompromising.
As long as he breathes, he rules, and he is a crazy fanatic, a well-informed Palestinian source has told the newspaper Haaretz.
Came to Visit
When the episode Goldfuss describes took place is not clear. But even Israelis who were previously held hostage by Hamas during the war have testified that Sinwar is down in the tunnels. Released Amina Moshe told in January that the Hamas leader had come to visit several times while she was being held captive.
Hello, how are you? Is everything OK? he is said to have asked the hostages in Hebrew – a language he speaks fluently after having spent many years in prison in Israel.
