Full Headline: Hamas leader said civilian death toll could benefit militant
group in Gaza war, WSJ reports
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 WSJ said it reviewed dozens of messages sent to ceasefire negotiators
from Sinwar, who has not been seen in public since Hamas’s October 7
attack on Israel left 1,200 people dead and another 250 taken hostage. The
ensuing Israeli assault aimed at eliminating the group has killed more than
37,000 Palestinians in the strip, according to health authorities there.
Sinwar’s whereabouts are unknown but he is assumed to be hiding deep
underground in Hamas’ labyrinthine tunnel system below Gaza. 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.
In another exchange that took place as Israel set a deadline in February to
enter Rafah before the Muslim month of Ramadan, the WSJ reported that
Sinwar urged Hamas’ political leaders not to make concessions and instead
push for a permanent end to the war, adding that high civilian casualties
would ramp up global pressure on Israel to halt the conflict.
“Israel’s journey in Rafah won’t be a walk in the park,” Sinwar allegedly said
in a message to the Hamas political leadership.
CNN has not seen the leaked messages viewed by the WSJ and is not able
to confirm the authenticity of the communications.
Commenting on the WSJ report, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on X:
“Sinwar profits off the deaths of Gazan civilians, calling them “necessary
sacrifices” in order to urge international pressure on Israel’s efforts to
eliminate his terrorist organization.”
Mediators are waiting for a Hamas response to an Israeli proposal presented
by US President Joe Biden last month, which aims to release the hostages in
Gaza and implement a lasting ceasefire there.
‘Waiting on’ Sinwar
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.
The US-designated terrorist had also expressed discontent after not being
consulted for a meeting between the Hamas political leaders with other
Palestinian factions, calling the meeting “shameful and outrageous.”
“As long as fighters are still standing and we have not lost the war, such
contacts should be immediately terminated,” he said, adding that “we have
the capabilities to continue fighting for months.”
He had also compared the war in Gaza to a 7th-century battle in Karbala,
Iraq, a monumental moment in Islamic history where the grandson of the
Prophet Mohammed was killed.
“We have to move forward on the same path we started,” Sinwar reportedly
wrote. “Or let it be a new Karbala.”
On Monday, 14 of the 15 United Nations Security Council members voted in
favor of a US-drafted resolution around the latest ceasefire proposal, with
only Russia abstaining – the first time the council has endorsed such a plan
to end the war. Israel is not a member of the UNSC, and so did not vote.
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.
Hamas welcomed the adoption of the UNSC resolution, saying in a
statement it was ready to engage with mediators to implement measures
such as the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, prisoner exchange,
returning residents to their homes and the “rejection of any demographic
change or reduction in the area of the Gaza Strip.”
The resolution says Israel has accepted the plan, and US officials have
repeatedly emphasized Israel had agreed to the proposal – despite other
public comments from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that
suggest otherwise.
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