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Yahya Sinwar, who was held captive in Israel for 23 years before being released and rising to a position of leadership within the organization, declared during a Gaza rally last year that Hamas would launch fighters and rockets in a devastating attack on the country. The head of Hamas gave an address in Gaza to thousands of applauding followers, and it was replete with the signature exaggeration that appeals to crowds. Shortly after, Israel realized the threat posed by Hamas wasn't insignificant as they breached Gaza's border, resulting in the deaths of about 1,200 people and the kidnapping of over 200 more.
Yahya Sinwar, who was held captive in Israel for 23 years before being released and rising to a position of leadership within the organization, declared during a Gaza rally last year that Hamas would launch fighters and rockets in a devastating attack on the country. The head of Hamas gave an address in Gaza to thousands of applauding followers, and it was replete with the signature exaggeration that appeals to crowds. Shortly after, Israel realized the threat posed by Hamas wasn’t insignificant as they breached Gaza’s border, resulting in the deaths of about 1,200 people and the kidnapping of over 200 more. In his speech on December 14, he declared, “We will invade you with an infinite stream of missiles, an endless flood of soldiers, and millions of our people, like the recurring tide. At the time of the speech, Mohammed Deif, the military chief of the militant Islamists, and Sinwar had already devised covert plans for the Oct. 7 attack, which turned out to be the bloodiest day in Israel’s 75-year history. More than 15,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israel’s invasion and bombardment of Gaza. When one hears Sinwar’s statements in retrospect, they portend the impending attack that Hamas nicknamed the “flood of Al-Aqsa,” referring to the mosque in Jerusalem, which is one of Israeli raids on Al-Aqsa have occurred on multiple occasions. Three Hamas sources have informed Reuters that Sinwar is spearheading negotiations for prisoner-hostage swaps and overseeing military operations with Deif and another commander, potentially from bunkers beneath Gaza. A senior Israeli security official told reporters this week that Sinwar had sway over the Qatari-mediated negotiations that resulted in the ceasefire that ended on Friday following Israel’s release of more than 200 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of dozens of Israeli captives held in Gaza. Some of the Israeli captives who were released claimed to have seen Sinwar in the tunnels in the days following the October 7 attacks. Regarding the alleged sighting, neither Israeli nor Hamas representatives have made any public remarks. Since Sinwar spent half of his adult life in prison and has promised to free all Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel, the issue of hostages and prisoner swaps is very personal to him. In his lone speech since the attacks, he suggested that all Palestinian prisoners in Israel would be returned home and urged prison care societies to compile a list of those prisoners’ names. In 2011, he was one of 1,027 Palestinians freed from Israeli prisons in exchange for one Israeli soldier detained in Gaza. After his release, he stated at a sizable homecoming celebration in Gaza City, “This must turn immediately into a workable plan.”
