As Netanyahu hedges, Hamas' Sinwar undecided between deal or regional war - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Analysis

Ben Caspit

Aug 20, 2024

Yahya al-Sinwar (C), Gaza Strip chief of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, waves to supporters during a rally marking the 35th anniversary of the group's foundation, in Gaza City on December 14, 2022. Hamas will end talks on securing a prisoner exchange with Israel unless there is progress soon, the militant group's leader in the Gaza Strip said on December 14. Since Israel's 2014 invasion of the Gaza Strip, the Islamist group has held the bodies of Israeli soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, altho — Yahya al-Sinwar (C), Gaza Strip chief of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, waves to supporters during a rally marking the 35th anniversary of the group's foundation, in Gaza City on December 14, 2022. Hamas will end talks on securing a prisoner exchange with Israel unless there is progress soon, the militant group's leader in the Gaza Strip said on December 14. Since Israel's 2014 invasion of the Gaza Strip, the Islamist group has held the bodies of Israeli soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, although Hamas has never confirmed their deaths. — MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images

Boys walk on dry bricks to traverse a puddle of sewage water past mounds of trash and rubble along a street in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees, northern Gaza Strip, August 14, 2024.

Analysis

Can progress on Gaza cease-fire talks help US restrain Netanyahu, hold off Iran attack?

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, attends the opening of a new mosque in Rafah, Feb. 24, 2017.

Analysis

As Netanyahu huffs and puffs, Israel on hold waiting for Sinwar, ICC

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Fire sweep over the Marjayoun plain in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel after being hit by Israeli shelling on August 16, 2024, amid the ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by RABIH DAHER / AFP) (Photo by RABIH DAHER/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

With Sinwar undecided, Israel wary of imminent Lebanon war with Hezbollah

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Head of the political wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar (2nd-R) is greeted upon his meeting to a gathering in Gaza City on April 30, 2022. (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS / AFP) (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

As he stalls Gaza talks, Israel's Netanyahu prioritizes capturing Sinwar

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense