Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar reportedly seeks a wider regional war and has hardened his stance on a hostage deal, US officials told the New York Times on Saturday.
Sinwars' attitude has "hardened in recent weeks," US officials told NYT, and they believe that Hamas currently has no intention of reaching a hostage deal with Israel.
These US officials said Hamas has not shown any engagement or desire to continue talks in recent weeks. US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, while speaking at press briefings on Tuesday and Wednesday, stated that Hamas has refused to take part in hostage deal negotiations over the past several weeks.
According to reports, Sinwar believed that he would not survive the ongoing Israel-Hamas War, which has allegedly hindered talks to secure and finalize a hostage deal, NYT reported, citing US intelligence assessments.
According to SInwar, a larger regional war that sees further pressure on Israel would force the IDF to limit operations in the Gaza Strip, the US officials said.
The NYT reported that the US officials estimated Sinwar’s reported gambit was a miscalculation in light of the ongoing Israeli ground operations in Lebanon and the Iranian ballistic missile attack, which failed to inflict much damage on Israel.
US also seeks to hunt down Sinwar
As a result, US spy agencies have reportedly formed a targeting cell to study and hunt down Sinwar. The officials did not share what intelligence had been found but said that, in general, Sinwar has become less flexible in the negotiation process.
Earlier reports circulated by Israeli and global media questioned whether Sinwar is still alive, but officials have said that the rumors could not be confirmed, as much of the communication between Sinwar and Hamas has been reduced.
NYT stated that while Sinwar was hiding, he understood that the IDF was closing in on him.
The military came near his position in August, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that IDF soldiers had found signs that Sinar spent time in tunnels beneath Rafah, near the tunnels where the six hostages were murdered in August.