Hamas’ military leader said he believed he had gained the upper hand over Israel and that the rising number of civilian deaths in Gaza would work in the militant group’s favor, according to a report. Wall Street Journal reportciting leaked messages the newspaper said it had seen.
“We have the Israelis right where we want them,” Yahya Sinwar recently told other Hamas leaders, according to one of the messages, the WSJ reported Monday. In another, Sinwar would have described the deaths of civilians as “necessary sacrifices”, while citing previous conflicts related to independence 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’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel left 1,200 people dead and another 250 taken hostage. The ensuing Israeli attack, aimed at eliminating the group, killed more than 37,000 Palestinians in the strip, according to local health authorities.
Sinwar’s whereabouts are unknown, but he is presumed to be hiding deep underground in the labyrinthine Hamas tunnel system beneath Gaza. The messages reported by the WSJ offer a rare glimpse into the mind of the man who directs Hamas’ thinking on the war and suggest an uncompromising determination to continue fighting, regardless of the human cost.
In another conversation that took place as Israel set a February deadline to enter Rafah before the Muslim month of Ramadan, the WSJ reported that Sinwar urged Hamas political leaders not to make concessions and instead press for a permanent end to the war, adding that the high number of civilian casualties would increase global pressure on Israel to end the conflict.
“Israel’s journey in Rafah will not be a walk in the park,” Sinwar was quoted as saying in a message to Hamas’ political leadership.
CNN has not seen the leaked messages viewed by the WSJ and cannot confirm the authenticity of the communications.
Commenting on the WSJ report, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in X: “Sinwar profits from the deaths of Gaza civilians, calling them “necessary sacrifices” in order to increase international pressure on the efforts Israel to eliminate its terrorist organization.”
Mediators await a response from Hamas to a Israeli proposal presented by US President Joe Biden last month, which aims to free hostages in Gaza and implement a lasting ceasefire there.
‘Waiting’ Sinwar
Sinwar’s alleged comments came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was on another trip to the Middle East to pressure all parties to agree to the latest proposal. Speaking from Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Blinken made clear that the US believes Sinwar is the final decision-maker.
“I think there are those who have influenced, but influence is one thing, making a decision is another thing. I don’t think anyone other than the Hamas leadership in Gaza is really the one who can make decisions,” Blinken said, adding that “that’s what we’re hoping for.”
Blinken said Hamas’ response to the proposal will reveal the group’s priorities.
“We await Hamas’ response and that will say a lot about what they want, what they’re looking for, who they’re looking out for,” Blinken said. “They’re looking out for a guy who might be safe for now… I don’t know, 10 floors underground somewhere in Gaza, while the people he claims to represent continue to suffer in a crossfire of his own making? Or he will do whatever is necessary to actually change this to a better place, to help end people’s suffering and help bring real security to both Israelis and Palestinians.”
In early messages to ceasefire negotiators, Sinwar seemed “surprised” by the brutality of the October 7 attack on Israel.
“Things got out of control,” Sinwar said in one of his messages, according to the WSJ, adding that he was “referring to gangs taking civilian women and children hostage.”
“People got caught up in this and it shouldn’t have happened,” Sinwar said, according to the WSJ.
The US-designated terrorist also expressed displeasure after not being consulted for a meeting between the political leaders of Hamas and other Palestinian factions, calling the meeting “shameful and outrageous.”
“As long as the fighters are still standing and we have not lost the war, these contacts must be immediately ended,” he said, adding that “we have the capacity to continue fighting for months.”
He also compared the war in Gaza to a seventh-century battle in Karbala, Iraq, a monumental moment in Islamic history where the prophet Muhammad’s grandson was killed.
“We have to move forward on the same path we started,” Sinwar 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 UN Security Council and therefore did not vote.
The comprehensive three-phase peace agreement, which sets out conditions intended to lead to the eventual release of all remaining hostages in exchange for a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, was presented publicly for the first time by the US President, Biden, on May 31st.
The historic vote means the United Nations Security Council now joins other major global bodies in supporting the plan, increasing international pressure on Hamas and Israel to end the conflict.
Hamas welcomed the adoption of the UN Security Council resolution, saying in a statement that it was ready to collaborate with mediators to implement measures such as the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the exchange of prisoners, the return of residents to their homes and the “rejection of any demographic change or reduction in the Gaza Strip area.”
The resolution says Israel has accepted the plan, and U.S. officials have repeatedly emphasized that Israel has agreed to the proposal — despite other public comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that suggest otherwise.
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