What happened to Yahya Sinwar? Qatar says Hamas leader alive but only communicating via paper and pen

Families of Israeli hostages in Gaza met with Qatari officials involved in the negotiations recently, where they were informed that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is no longer communicating with the outside world. 

The report, first published in Israeli news site N12, said that the recent assassinations of high-profile Hamas and Hezbollah leaders caused Sinwar to “disappear.” 

“Sinwar is not communicating with us at the moment,” the Qatari officials are reported to have told the hostage families. “He disappeared to us too and didn't make contact. He stopped communicating through phones because of the assassinations, and now he communicates with paper and pen, which makes it very difficult.” 

The Qatari officials also told the hostage families that they believe Sinwar has surrounded himself with hostages as form of insurance against an IDF strike. The Qataris do not believe that Sinwar is dead, despite not having any contact for weeks. 

The officials blamed Israel’s “assassination policy” for stopping negotiations, despite Hamas not agreeing to any of the recent proposals. 

“Israel adopted an assassination policy that worsened the deal. In the past, Haniyeh was assassinated. Now there's Khaled Mashaal, and he's much stricter than Haniyeh,” the officials reportedly told the families. 

N12 reported that one of the hostage family members attacked the Qataris for their past support of Hamas, saying, “The blood of our families is on your hands because you transferred the money to the terrorists, but you are the ones who can also try to save the hostages.” 

The New York Times on Saturday reported that Sinwar has hardened his attitude in recent weeks, and that he has no intention of making a hostage deal. The report claims that Sinwar hopes to bog Israel down in Gaza until pressure from the international community causes them to withdraw from the Strip. 

The NYT report also claimed that U.S. spy agencies are working to discover Sinwar’s location, believing that his capture or death could lead to the end of hostilities in Gaza. 

Recently, there have been many questions regarding the fate of Yahya Sinwar. Despite the publication of several statements in his name following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, Israeli military officials are not convinced the statements were actually made by the secretive Hamas leader. 

Conflicting reports have claimed either that he is still hiding in the extensive tunnel system under the Gaza Strip, or that he is hiding among the general population, possibly dressed as a woman to avoid detection and capture. 

Last week, the IDF caused some speculation when a picture Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi was released showing an organizational chart of Hamas leaders with a question mark over the face of Sinwar. 

However, military officials said they have received no evidence of Sinwar’s death.