A Wall Street Journal report has revealed messages penned by Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, to various Hamas officials and hostage deal mediators.
According to the report, referring to the war, Sinwar recently wrote to Hamas officials negotiating a hostage deal, “We have the Israelis right where we want them.”
In a message to Hamas leaders in Qatar, Sinwar presented as an example the civilian casualties during the Algerian war, affirming such casualties “are necessary sacrifices.”
In a similar vein, when the three sons of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh were killed in an Israel Air Force (IAF) strike in Gaza in April, Sinwar affirmed both their deaths and that of other Palestinians would “infuse life into the veins of this nation, prompting it to rise to its glory and honor.”
Regarding civilian women and children being taken hostages by Palestinian mobs on October 7, the WSJ report cites his messages to negotiators as saying, “Things went out of control.”
“People got caught up in this, and that shouldn’t have happened,” he claimed.
No reconciliation
Sinwar was also reportedly discontent with Hamas officials meeting with other factions in December to debate reconciliation after the war, which he labeled “shameful and outrageous.”
He reportedly added, “As long as fighters are still standing and we have not lost the war, such contacts should be immediately terminated.” He further stated, “We have the capabilities to continue fighting for months.”
Referring to a ground operation in Rafah, Sinwar wrote to Hamas leaders in Qatar that “Israel’s journey in Rafah won’t be a walk in the park.”
The WSJ report also noted that Sinwar’s recent messages to Hamas allies illustrate an inclination to die while fighting. He equated the Gaza war to the battle of Karbala in Iraq, which occurred in the 7th century and in which the grandson of the prophet Muhammed was killed. “We have to move forward on the same path we started,” Sinwar said. “Or let it be a new Karbala.”
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