Israel ‘using Hamas prisoners to track down terror chiefs’

As pressure grows on Israel to avoid civilian deaths, IDF believes killing leaders will collapse organisation

• Israel-Hamas war - live updates

The Israeli military's coming push into southern Gaza is driven by the belief that intelligence gleaned from hundreds of militants captured during the fighting in the north will allow them to find and kill leaders of Hamas.

Israel's politicians and generals believe that taking out top commanders - and leader Yahya Sinwar - is their best chance of forcing the collapse of an organisation that is deeply embedded in Gaza, after nearly two decades controlling the enclave.