After the October 7th attack, Israel conducted military operations to locate Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Despite their efforts, he was able to evade the intelligence network of Israel and its allies by utilizing untraceable means of communication in conjunction with the vast network of underground tunnels that Hamas has in Gaza.
In addition, according to The Wall Street Journal, the Arab negotiators gave the now dead Hamas leader the opportunity to survive by leaving the Gaza Strip. In exchange, they asked him to give Egypt the green light to negotiate a ceasefire and hostage return agreement.
Sinwar’s refusal
Sinwar refused the proposed deal of the Arab negotiators, believing that by attracting Iran and Hezbollah, he could start a regional war against Israel, a possibility that has not yet been ruled out.
Moreover, the “mastermind” of the October 7th attack said to Arab negotiators: “I am not under siege, [but] I am on Palestinian territory.”
In the following months, the Israeli army strategically destroyed certain tunnels, limiting the number of places where Sinwar could possibly hide. In doing so, it forced him to surface and spend more time above ground, specifically in the Tel al-Sultan area of Rafah in southern Gaza.
At the same time, the Israeli armed forces, unaware of the exact location of the Hamas leader, continued on with air raids in the area.
The posthumous order of Sinwar
In September, following Israel’s bombing operation on Hezbollah and the death of the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, Sinwar predicted that the group would face pressure to sign a ceasefire agreement.
Beyond that, he began preparing for his death, telling Hamas members that, after his death, Israel would take steps to end the war in Gaza.
Finally, he recommended that, after his death, the organization appoint a council of leaders to govern and manage the transition of leadership.
The role of Sinwar in negotiations
Even before Sinwar became the leader of Hamas, he communicated with his comrades in the organization’s political leadership to prevent them from making concessions. His message was that high civilian casualties would pressure Netanyahu to negotiate.
In March, the Israelis closed in on another Sinwar hideout, where they discovered uniforms, vests, and binoculars. Sinwar again sent a message to Hamas officials saying they should refuse negotiators’ agreement.
In fact, he was saying that Hamas had the advantage in the negotiations, as Israel was facing internal problems on the one hand and the Americans were pressuring Netanyahu on the other.
In general, Sinwar did not agree to concessions on the part of Hamas to end the war in Gaza. This proved to be Sinwar’s fatal mistake, eventually leading to his death.
Plans to assassinate Sinwar
During his tenure, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu had approved two strikes aimed at eliminating Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. However, both failed.
In addition to the Israeli Prime Minister, former Prime Minister Bennett was also willing to eliminate Sinwar. In 2022, Bennett tried to convince Israel’s cabinet to approve the strike on Sinwar. However, Israeli officials felt that Hamas posed no real threat to Israel’s security.
