Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar reportedly renewed contacts with mediators in Qatar this week to find out the chances that he could receive immunity in any ceasefire-for-hostages deal, Israel’s Channel 12 news reported on Tuesday.
The response from Qatari mediators to Sinwar was not to focus on himself but on the hostages, who are the pressing issue. Israel has not yet responded to Sinwar’s request, the news site reported.
Similarly, in August, Ynet reported that Sinwar wanted protection against the possibility of an Israeli assassination. “Sinwar insists on guarantees for his safety and life” a senior Egyptian official said.
Two threats from Qatar led to Sinwar’s emergence from a long silence, according to Channel 12.
First, the oil-rich Gulf State warned that it wouldn’t finance the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip after the war. Seconly, it threatened to confiscate, or freeze, the bank accounts of top Hamas leaders in Qatar.
On Friday, The New York Times reported that Sinwar is seeking a wider regional war and is not interested in reaching a truce with Jerusalem.
The mastermind of the Oct. 7 massacre, who is believed to be hiding in Gaza’s tunnels, doesn’t think that he will survive the war and has hardened his stance 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,” the Times reported.
Israel had questioned whether Sinwar was still alive, with U.S. and Israeli officials acknowledging that there had been no sign of him for months.
Throughout the war that started on Oct. 7, 2023, there have been other periods when Sinwar was incommunicado.
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.
Qatari officials involved in negotiations between Israel and Hamas have told family members of hostages that Sinwar has surrounded himself with captives.
IDF Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, the Israeli government’s point man on missing and kidnapped citizens, said on Monday 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.
