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 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.
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.
UPDATE: Hamas accepts UN ceasefire resolution, ready to negotiate over details, official says
Hamas accepts a UN Security Council ceasefire resolution and is ready to negotiate over the details, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters on Tuesday, adding that it was up to Washington to ensure that Israel abides by it.
Hamas accepts the UN security council resolution in regard to the ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli troops and swap of hostages for detainees held by Israel, he said.
“The U.S. administration is facing a real test to carry out its commitments in compelling the occupation to immediately end the war in an implementation of the UN Security Council resolution,” Abu Zuhri said.
and is ready to negotiate over the details
I feel like this should have been the headline. Hopefully it turns into something real.
Yes, very exciting news. Now we need to make sure Israel keeps their side of the agreement.
Israel have already said that they are not interested in the agreement.
We’ll have to see what Blinken can do about it. He said he has a high confidence Israel will agree to the deal if Hamas does. I’m interested to see if the US can apply enough pressure to get a ceasefire in place.
I cannot find Sinwar saying what is said in the title. Can someone help me find the quote? Or is CNN posting from their Jerusalem Bureau again?
CNN Runs Gaza Coverage Past Jerusalem Team Operating Under Shadow of IDF Censor
It’s in the WSJ article: https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/gaza-chiefs-brutal-calculation-civilian-bloodshed-will-help-hamas-626720e7
Paywall bypass: https://archive.md/TUxqo
Where is it? I cannot find it. WSJ is another famous israeli propaganda outlet that has a reputation for making shit up.
The WSJ article also contains blatant propaganda claiming Hamas fired on the crossing instead of a literal military base 2 miles away from it. Which was used to park the tanks they were going to use to invade Rafah.
Sinwar’s response: Hamas fired on Kerem Shalom crossing May 5, killing four soldiers. Hamas officials outside Gaza began to echo Sinwar’s confident posture.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The military leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, said that the Palestinian militant group has the upper hand over Israel in the war in Gaza, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, citing leaked messages the newspaper said it had seen.
The WSJ reported that in one message Sinwar said civilian deaths in previous conflicts were “necessary sacrifices,” citing past independence-related wars in places like Algeria.
As Israel prepared to enter Rafah before the Muslim month of Ramadan in February, the WSJ said Sinwar urged Hamas’ political leaders not to make concessions and instead push for a permanent end to the war.
Mediators are waiting for a Hamas response to an Israeli proposal presented by President Joe Biden last month – which aims to release the hostages in Gaza and implement a ceasefire there.
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.
The original article contains 910 words, the summary contains 205 words. Saved 77%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Welcome to resistance ideology. When people are oppressed casualties become recruitment and death becomes duty. This happened with the Irish, the South Africans, the Algerians, the Native Americans, and on, and on, and on.
And your condemnation of it only works in their favor because it shows you do not understand the position they’re in.
Bullshit hasbara title from an israeli propaganists.
Yes, we know. Hamas is bad. Thanks for telling us though.
You are literally the person who suggested I should try posting news about Hamas: https://lemm.ee/post/34012517/12428169
See the part where I said “that isn’t exactly news.”
This also isn’t exactly news.
I thought this story was interesting. Especially the messages about how the taking of civilian hostages should not have happened. We don’t often get a glimpse into the mind of Hamas leadership like this. It can be hard to know what’s intentional and what’s not. You said the dying isn’t exactly news, which is why I haven’t been posting about that.
Do all of us think that though? There seems to be a diversity of thought about Hamas on Lemmy.
That doesn’t suggest that Hamas is good. They’re just, rightly or wrongly, denying that Hamas is using a specific tactic.
Fair point.
It’s almost like there’s a well understood reason for why people become terrorists.
Seriously who’s surprised by this
Yes, they believe in a different fake man in the sky from the other ones, and that justifies their actions. Religion is poison for the mind.
Yeah it has nothing to do with seeing your family starve day after day until they’re murdered. They have the stupid disease so they’re stupid, that’s the only reason.
So you’re just gonna ignore the reason why they fight to begin with? So they can just do exactly the same thing again in a year or two cause the primary reason remain?
They can’t coexist with make-belief-reasons to kill each other.
“I want your land” isn’t a make-believe reason.
…and why do they fight over the land? Could it maybe have a little something to do about the various nonsense they believe that was made up by un-scientific societies from 1500-3000 years ago?
Stop trying to make it a recent conflict over something logical when it clearly isn’t.
Tell me more about how you look down on the savages, civilized man.
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all have the same fake man and in the sky. They’re fighting over who his message boys were…but that really isn’t very relevant in the current situation.
I mean yeah, but… No?
Their stories are different. It’s like saying that three fan fics by three different authors that use a select few “same characters” actually have the same characters… When they behave in ways that are incompatable with the other fan fics.
That’s kinda the problem. That and geography. They all think the same patch of land is super important. And the land around that is important, too.
This is one of the ways that those "same characters (gods) " were incompatible.
When you back away from it all, it’s the God of Abram/Abraham. But the details matter to adherents. And the details are quite different.
The us and them created by those stories is essential to understanding this. And the land grabs. And the killings. And the rationale.
