Israel’s war on Hamas and the destruction that ensued in the Gaza Strip following nine months of fighting may have impacted Hamas’s decision to drop last week its hostage deal negotiation demand that Israel ends the war, sources in the Middle East and the US told Associated Press on Monday.
The report also revealed, via a Middle Eastern official, the content of messages penned by Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip, which called on the group’s Qatar leaders to accept US President Joe Biden’s outline for a hostage deal.
Messages reveal disjunction between Hamas leaders
According to AP, the messages describe the difficult conditions in Gaza and the severe blow struck to Hamas’s forces.
The communications also reportedly suggest a disjunction between Yahya Sinwar and Hamas leaders in Gaza regarding the desire to achieve a deal.
Two US officials stated, according to the report, that such divisions do exist within the terror group’s leadership and were a factor in Hamas’s announcement last week.
AP also noted that the content of the messages indicated that Sinwar either was not communicative with Hamas’s leaders in Qatar or was not fully cognizant of the breadth of the fighting in Gaza.
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