Sinwar Surfaces After Several Weeks of Silence

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has reportedly contacted hostage-ceasefire deal mediators in Qatar following weeks of silence which had begun to lead intelligence agencies to wonder if he was even still alive. According to a senior Israeli official quoted by the Walla news portal, Sinwar's positions have not softened, and he is still demanding a complete IDF withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and guarantees that Israel will not restart hostilities and allow Hamas to retain political control of the Strip in return for the remaining Israeli hostages.

He has also, according to reports in other media outlets, not lost hope that a regional war would distract attention from Hamas and allow him to avoid losing control of the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, Qatari officials who are familiar with the negotiations have told family members of the remaining hostages that Israel's policy of assassinating Hamas leaders is not bringing a solution closer.

“In the past, there was [former Hamas leader Ismail] Haniyeh and he was eliminated. Now there is Khaled Mashaal and he is much more difficult than Haniyeh,” the Qatari officials reportedly told the hostage families.

As if to prove this point, Khaled Mashaal issued a statement on Monday, the one year anniversary of the October 7th attacks, in which he said among other things that Hamas would reemerge "like a phoenix" despite the devastating losses its suffered in the last year. He added, without giving any evidence to support the claim, that Hamas continues to recruit new members to replace those who have been eliminated by the IDF. He also said the group continues to manufacture weapons, although the IDF has destroyed dozens of underground weapons factories in the Gaza Strip over the last year.

“Palestinian history is made of cycles,” Mashaal, told Reuters in an interview. “We go through phases where we lose martyrs (victims) and we lose part of our military capabilities, but then the Palestinian spirit rises again, like the phoenix, thanks to God.”

“We lost part of our ammunition and weapons, but Hamas is still recruiting young men and continues to manufacture a significant portion of its ammunition and weapons."