Sinwar renews Qatar contacts, seeks to foment regional war, not interested in truce

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar speaks at a rally in Gaza City, Nov. 4, 2019. Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90.

(JNS) — Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has renewed contacts with mediators in Qatar, Israel’s Channel 12 News reported on Oct. 7, citing sources familiar with the ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

According to Channel 12‘s Dana Weiss and Amit Segal, the Palestinian terrorist leader maintained radio silence in recent weeks due to his conviction that Israel was not interested in reaching an agreement.

On Oct. 4, The New York Times reported that Sinwar is seeking a wider regional war and is not interested in reaching a truce with Jerusalem.

The article noted that Sinwar, the mastermind of the Oct. 7 massacre and who is believed to be hiding in Gaza’s tunnels, believes that he won’t survive the war and has hardened his stances over the past weeks.

“Hamas has shown no desire at all to engage in talks in recent weeks, U.S. officials say. They suspect that Mr. Sinwar has grown more resigned as Israeli forces pursue him and talk about closing in on him,” per the Times.

The article noted that Israel has questioned whether Sinwar is still alive, with U.S. and Israeli officials acknowledging that there had been no sign of him for months. However, in the absence of hard evidence of his death, American officials believed he was still alive and in charge of Hamas.

Channel 12 said over the weekend that the Qatari officials involved in negotiations between Israel and Hamas told family members of hostages that Sinwar has surrounded himself with captives and that despite his disappearance, there is no indication of his death.

“Sinwar is currently not communicating with us. He has disappeared from us as well and has not made contact. He stopped using phones because of the assassinations, and now he communicates using paper and pen, which makes things very difficult,” the Qataris reportedly said.

Hamas still holds 101 hostages, including 97 of the 251 taken during its onslaught on the northwestern Negev just over a year ago, in which 1,200 people were killed and thousands more wounded.

Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari on Sept. 23 declined to comment on reports that Sinwar may have been killed or wounded in an Israeli Air Force strike in the coastal enclave.

“I can’t confirm it, nor can I deny it. We have one mission: to reach him — and we will,” the military spokesman told reporters during a briefing.

Throughout the war that started on Oct. 7, there have been substantial periods when Sinwar was incommunicado, either due to being on the move or deliberately choosing to cut off contact for strategic reasons.

The IDF reportedly brought bodies out of Gaza last month to check if the DNA matched Sinwar’s. All tests were said to have come back negative.

In a picture published by the military on Sept. 29 of a meeting led by Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, a list of eliminated terrorists could be seen on a TV screen, with a question mark covering Sinwar’s photo.

IDF Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, the Israeli government’s point man on missing and kidnapped citizens, said on Sept. 7 that Jerusalem “will continue to leave no stone unturned” to free the remaining hostages.

“Negotiation efforts and moves related to negotiations are taking place constantly,” he declared at the World Summit on Counter-Terrorism at Herzliya’s Reichman University. “The problem is the time it is taking. During every situation assessment and discussion in the Cabinet, we note the situation of the hostages and the ticking clock,” Hirsch added.