Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar could have given the order to execute all hostages remaining in Gaza if he had died, a senior Israeli negotiator has claimed.
Sinwar died on Wednesday after the IDF found him by chance and sent a drone to kill the terrorist leader.
Gershon Baskin, the Israeli negotiator who oversaw Sinwar’s release from an Israeli prison in 2011, along with 1,026 Palestinian prisoners, in exchange for the return of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shilat, said his death was either a “moment of opportunity or a moment of doom.” “. ‘
“A fatal moment because there are rumors that Sinwar gave instructions to the hostages that, in case they killed him, they should kill his hostages,” he told the Telegraph.
At the time of Sinwar’s death, just over 100 hostages remained in Gaza, with 60 believed to be still alive.
Those who are still alive risk never returning to their families, according to Haaretzwhich reported on Sunday that senior US officials, including Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, have assessed that there is little chance of a deal being negotiated, given tensions between Israel and Hamas.
Sinwar (pictured) died on Wednesday after the IDF found him by chance and sent a drone to kill the terrorist leader.
Protesters attend a demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and demand an agreement to release all hostages held in Gaza, during the conflict between Israel and Hamas, near Netanyahu’s private residence in Jerusalem on June 20 .
People protest against the government, demanding a ceasefire agreement and the immediate release of hostages kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel.
A senior Israeli official told the newspaper on Sunday, several days after Sinwar’s death: “There are currently no serious ceasefire talks, and Blinken is fully aware of this.”
They added: ‘It is unclear how Sinwar’s death will affect any possible negotiations, if they exist at this stage.
While Baskin told the Telegraph that it was not possible to confirm whether Sinwar had an order to kill the hostages, she said the rumors should be taken seriously, given how little Hamas appears to care about them.
He cited the horrific massacre of six hostages in tunnels under Rafah in late August.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the six were “cruelly murdered by Hamas shortly before we reached them.”
The six dead hostages were identified as Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Carmel Gat, 39, Almog Sarusi, 26, Alex Lubnov, 26, Ori Danino, 25, and Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23.
Five of those who were recovered had been attending the Nova music festival when Hamas terrorists began massacring festival-goers, while taking others hostage. Gat was at her family’s kibbutz when she was captured.
The time on the clock at the end of the footage is 1:32 am, just five hours before the first terrorists were seen breaking into Israeli territory.
This is the moment the wife of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is seen apparently holding a bag of $32,000 in the tunnel leading to his secret lair.
Footage of his wife appears to show her entering through the tunnel to the den, carrying a Birkin bag, the day before the horrendous tragedy. She is seen appearing to smile at the camera.
People walk past freshly painted graffiti depicting Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, days after he was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, October 20, 2024.
Goldberg-Polin lost his arm when a grenade exploded during the massacre.
‘We saw the six hostages killed as Israel entered the tunnel. That could be the case now. We just don’t know,” Baskin said.
He said the return of the hostages depends entirely on whether Israel is able to reach an agreement with Hamas.
“It is a moment of opportunity in which Israel should make a very clear call that anyone who holds a hostage and releases them will have free passage for them and their family out of Gaza to another country, as well as a lot of money.
“To encourage them to do that, Israel should also approach Egypt and Qatar and tell them to quickly resume negotiations, not on the deal that has been negotiated unsuccessfully for almost four months, but on a deal that would bring the hostages back faster and it would obviously require Israel to end the war.
He said a deal would likely mean the release of Palestinian prisoners, a controversial point for many Israelis who believe their release would simply lead to another Oct. 7-style attack in the future.
A Yemeni man looks at a piece of art depicting Hamas Political Bureau chief Yahya Sinwar.
Sinwar’s lair, discovered by Israeli soldiers in the Tel al-Sultan area, had good resources: food, water and other supplies to help him survive for months underground.
These are the disturbing images that show Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar cruelly hiding in relative comfort from his underground lair while ordering his terrorist group to carry out the bloodiest massacre Israel has ever suffered.
But Baskin said it was a mistake to think like that: ‘October 7 was not because of Sinwar. (It was) because we are occupying another people for 56 years without allowing them to believe that they will be free, or locking two million people in Gaza under poverty and telling them that they will never be able to leave. Loop.”
He said he hoped the deadly attack would ultimately force Israelis to “confront the fallacy of basing their policies, vis-à-vis the Palestinians, on military force.”
‘For the Palestinians, the lesson learned must be, first and foremost, that there should no longer be armed struggle as part of their liberation strategy.
“For better or worse, armed struggle primarily brings death and destruction.”
And he added: ‘Every person who lives between the river and the sea must have the same right to the same rights.
‘From that beginning, we can move forward. Freedom, self-determination, security and dignity for all.’