The military leader of Hamas has said he believes he has gained the upper hand over Israel and that the spiralling civilian death toll in Gaza would work in the militant group’s favor, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, citing leaked messages the newspaper said it had seen.
“We have the Israelis right where we want them,” Yahya Sinwar told other Hamas leaders recently, according to one of the messages, the WSJ reported Monday. In another, Sinwar is said to have described civilian deaths as “necessary sacrifices” while citing past independence-related conflicts in countries like Algeria.
The messages reported by the WSJ offer a rare glimpse into the mind of the man steering Hamas’ thinking on the war and suggest an uncompromising determination to continue fighting, regardless of the human cost.
Sinwar’s alleged comments emerged as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was on another tour through the Middle East to push all sides to agree to the latest proposal. Speaking from Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Blinken made it clear that the US believes Sinwar is the ultimate decision-maker.
“I think there are there those who have influenced, but influence is one thing, actually getting a decision made is the is another thing. I don’t think anyone other than the Hamas leadership in Gaza actually are the ones who can make decisions,” Blinken said, adding that “that is what we are waiting on.”
Blinken said that Hamas’ answer to the proposal will reveal the group’s priorities.
“We await the answer from Hamas in and that will speak volumes about what they want, what they’re looking for, who they’re looking after,” Blinken said. “Are they looking after one guy who may be for now safe … I don’t know, 10 stories underground somewhere in Gaza, while the people that he purports to represent continue to suffer in a crossfire of his own making? Or will he do what’s necessary to actually move this to a better place, to help end the suffering of people to help bring real security to Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
In early messages to ceasefire negotiators, Sinwar seemed “surprised” by the brutality of the October 7 attack on Israel.
“Things went out of control,” Sinwar said in one of his messages, according to the WSJ, adding he was “referring to gangs taking civilian women and children as hostages.”
“People got caught up in this, and that should not have happened,” Sinwar said, according to the WSJ.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The military leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, said that the Palestinian militant group has the upper hand over Israel in the war in Gaza, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, citing leaked messages the newspaper said it had seen.
The WSJ reported that in one message Sinwar said civilian deaths in previous conflicts were “necessary sacrifices,” citing past independence-related wars in places like Algeria.
As Israel prepared to enter Rafah before the Muslim month of Ramadan in February, the WSJ said Sinwar urged Hamas’ political leaders not to make concessions and instead push for a permanent end to the war.
Mediators are waiting for a Hamas response to an Israeli proposal presented by President Joe Biden last month – which aims to release the hostages in Gaza and implement a ceasefire there.
The comprehensive three-stage peace deal, which sets out conditions intended to lead to the eventual release of all remaining hostages, in return for a permanent ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli forces, was first laid out publicly by US President Biden on May 31.
The landmark vote means the UNSC now joins other major global bodies in backing the plan, increasing international pressure on both Hamas and Israel to end the conflict.
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