Hamas leader determined to drag Israel into a 'bigger war' - NYT
Kyiv • UNN
Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, intends to expand the conflict with Israel to a regional level. U.S. officials believe he is alive to block a cease-fire agreement, frustrated by the lack of support from Hezbollah and Iran.
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is determined to drag Israel into a larger “regional conflict”. This is reported by the NYT with reference to US officials, reports UNN.
Officials say Sinwar has become fatalistic after nearly a year of war in Gaza and is determined to drag Israel into a larger regional conflict.
Sinwar is also reported to have blocked the ceasefire agreement and is still disappointed that Hezbollah and Iran have not come to his aid.
According to U.S. intelligence estimates, Sinwar has long believed he would not survive the war, a view that has hampered negotiations for the release of hostages taken by his group in the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel.
U.S. officials say its position has hardened in recent weeks, and U.S. negotiators now believe Hamas has no intention of reaching an agreement with Israel.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also rejected offers at the talks and added positions that have complicated the negotiations. U.S. officials assess that he is mainly concerned about his political survival and may not think a cease-fire in Gaza is in his interest.
U.S. officials said that Sinwar estimated that a larger war that would put pressure on Israel and its army would force them to scale back operations in the Gaza Strip.
Sinwar's position reportedly hardened this summer after Israel assassinated Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas political leader based in Qatar and one of the chief negotiators.
Some Israeli officials question whether Sinwar is still alive. U.S. and Israeli officials acknowledge there is no definitive proof he is alive. There has been no audio or video footage from him for months.
On September 13, Hezbollah published a letter that Sinwar had sent in support of Nasrallah. Some Hamas officials, elliptically speaking, suggested that it had been written outside Gaza by someone else, with Sinwar's approval. It was not handwritten, unlike other messages that were confirmed to have come directly from him.
But U.S. officials said they had no proof of his death, and in fact senior U.S. officials said they believed he was alive and making important decisions for Hamas.
Sinwar continues to hide, but seems to realize that Israeli forces are closing in on him.
U.S. officials are waiting to see if the conflict between Iran and Israel escalates. They don't believe Iran wants a full-scale war with Israel or direct intervention to help Hamas. But they also publicly support a planned Israeli strike on Iran in response to this week's ballistic missile attack.
“Iran will carry a grudge for killing Nasrallah,” said Scott D. Berrier, a retired lieutenant general and former head of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency.
“But their options are limited. I don't think Iran is going to go head-to-head with Israel anytime soon,” Scott noted.
A senior U.S. official said Iran's actions over the past few months have given Sinwar a clear message, “The cavalry is not coming.
