Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is alive and has quietly established contacts with Qatar. The claim has been made in the report of Israeli media outlet The Jerusalem Post. This news has come at a time when Israel is continuing its investigation into Sinwar's possible death. It was believed that Sinwar was killed in a rocket strike on a school shelter in Gaza. However, a senior Qatari official rejected the media report's claim that the Hamas leader had made direct contact. He said that contact was made through senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayyah.
Israel launched a massive airstrike on Gaza on September 21. It was believed that Sinwar died because he did not contact the official channels for a long time. The Israeli army maintained that it targeted the Hamas command center in its air strike. However, Palestinian health officials have been claiming that 22 people, including women and children, died in this attack. Later media reports said that Israeli officials themselves are investigating whether Sinwar has been killed or not.
Mastermind of October 7 attack
Sinwar was the mastermind behind the attack by Hamas fighters who entered Israel on October 7 last year. Sinwar was made Hamas chief in August this year, after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran. Born in 1962, Sinwar is considered one of the earliest members of Hamas, which was formed in 1987. He took charge of the security wing of this terrorist group, whose job is to protect the organization from Israeli spies.
Meanwhile, Hamas' chief negotiator and deputy Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya has given a big statement. He said that a year after the bombing of Gaza began and despite Hamas's flexibility, Israel is still blocking the ceasefire agreement. “We can say with full confidence that the issue of Palestine has become a major topic in the world,” al-Hayya said in a speech shown on Hamas' Aqsa television. “All sides now realize that there can be no security and stability in the region unless our people are fully empowered.”
