Speculation Of Death, Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar Establishes Contact With Negotiator Of Ceasefire

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. (Source: IRNA)

JAKARTA - The leader of the Hamas group Yahya Sinwar reappeared after days of disappearance, causing speculation he had been killed, according to a report.

Sinwar melanjutkan kontak dengan negotiator Hamas di Qatar setelah tidak muncul di radio, menurut reporter Axios Barak Ravid, dikutip dari New York Post 8 Oktober.

Sinwar, whose status was unknown after he disappeared on September 22, reappeared on Monday to establish contact with the Hamas delegation in Doha, Ravid reported.

Reports circulated last month, Sinwar may have been killed in one of Israel's airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, but officials found no evidence to support the claim.

However, both Israel Defense Foces and the Shin Bet intelligence agency opened an investigation into Sinwar to investigate whether he was still alive.

It's nothing strange for Sinwar, who disappeared within the Hamas tunnel network on October 10, not to give news via radio.

Previously, the tactic had sparked previous false reports of his death, as happened in December after Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, where Sinwar had lived.

Counter-terrorism experts told The Post that Sinwar may have avoided all radio communications to avoid Israeli intelligence networks.

Hamas leaders most likely rely on couriers to deliver messages as they hide underground in Gaza.

It remains unclear what Sinwar's return would mean to the negotiating table for the stalled ceasefire agreement.

A senior Israeli official told news website Walla it appeared Sinwar had not softened his position at the ceasefire and hostage deals at all, as quoted by The Times of Israel.

Hamas is known to demand a full withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gaza and a permanent halt to war. On the other hand, Israel has rejected any arrangements that would allow the militant group to maintain control of the Gaza Strip and rebuild its military force.

In Qatar, a senior diplomat Doha told The Jerusalem Post, reports of the direct contact were false, and all negotiating efforts have been made through senior political figure Hamas, Khalil al-Hayya.

Speaking exclusively to The Jerusalem Post, the diplomat clarified all mediation efforts were carried out exclusively through representatives from the Hamas political office in Doha.

Meanwhile, former security service interogator Shin Bet who handled Sinwar told The Daily Mail on Monday the Hamas leader was carrying 25 kilograms (about 55 pounds) of rot in a video recording of himself walking through a tunnel a few days after the October 7, 2023 incident.

The video footage, released by the IDF in February showed Sinwar walking through a Gaza tunnel with several members of his family and being the first and only visual published from the terror leader after October 7.