What happened to Yahya Sinwar? Qatar says Hamas leader is alive but only communicating on paper

Families of Israeli hostages in Gaza recently met with Qatari officials involved in the negotiations 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 reportedly 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 they believe Sinwar has surrounded himself with hostages as a form of insurance against an IDF strike. Qatar does believe Sinwar is dead, despite not having had any contact for weeks. 

Officials blame Israel’s "assassination policy" for halting negotiations, despite Hamas not having agreed 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 condemned the Qatari officials 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.” 

On Saturday, The New York Times 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 American spy agencies are investing considerable effort to locate Sinwar, 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 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 top Hamas leader.

Conflicting reports have either claimed that he is still hiding in the extensive tunnel system beneath 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 an image of 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.