Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar unwilling to hold Gaza peace talks, says US

Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar has been unwilling to join peace talks for weeks, according to the United States.

Sinwar is understood to be hiding in the Gaza Strip and directing the Hamas’ war with Israel from there. While talks for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas and allied groups have been stalled over new demands of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , Sinwar has also not been very enthusiastic about a ceasefire and has instead been counting on escalation in the Middle East to benefit him.

At a press briefing on Wednesday, US Department of State Spokesperson Mathew Miller said that Sinwar is not willing to hold peace talks.

“Sinwar has been unwilling to engage in any meaningful way in the ceasefire talks and I think it is probably reasonable to conclude he’s watching what is happening in north [northern Israel battlefront with Lebanon-based Hezbollah], he’s watching Iran’s attacks against Israel, and looking and thinking maybe he’s about to get what he’s always wanted, which is a full-scale regional war, and that may have changed his calculation,” said Miller.

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Highlighting that a ceasefire is “manifestly in the interest of the Palestinian people”, Miller said that Sinwar should return to the talks.

Sinwar, who became the chief of Hamas after previous chief Ismail Haniyeh's assassination in July , is considered to be the mastermind of the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. He was previously the chief of Hamas in Gaza.

Sinwar is understood to be hiding in the vast network of Gaza’s underground tunnels used by Hamas. He has long used Palestinians' sufferings and the devastation in Gaza to continue the war of Hamas on Israel and cornering Israel internationally.

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Since taking over the Hamas in Gaza in 2017, Since has engaged in a policy of triggering activities that have led to casualties among the Palestinians, which have in turn fuelled further conflict and systematically isolated Israel on the international stage, according to Wall Street Journal.

Following the October 7 stage, Sinwar has deployed the strategy at a grand scale, as per the newspaper.

Sinwar has long been one of the most wanted man in Israel. Even as Israel has assassinated Haniyeh, Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif, and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, Sinwar has remained elusive. It has previously been reported that while Israel once had a tip-off regarding his location, Israel dropped a plan to assassinate him over fears of harming hostages held in the vicinity.