TV report: Sinwar personally sent clandestine message to Israel a few weeks before Oct 7

Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar speaks during a rally marking Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day, in Gaza City, April 14, 2023. (Mohammed Abed/AFP)
Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar speaks during a rally marking Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day, in Gaza City, April 14, 2023. (Mohammed Abed/AFP)

Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s Gaza chief, personally sent a clandestine message to Israel a few weeks before he launched Hamas’s October 7 slaughter in southern Israel. In it, he warned Israel to expect a flare-up tied to Palestinians in Israeli prisons and on the issue of captives, Channel 12 news reports.

Stressing that it was not reporting the text word for word, the TV report says the message from Sinwar approximately stated: “A flare-up is expected in the prisons and on the issue of the captives.”

It says the message was received by Israel, and that Sinwar knew it had been received. It does not specify to whom Sinwar conveyed the message or how it was conveyed.

It notes that the message did not constitute a specific warning regarding the then-imminent October 7 invasion and slaughter, but asserts nonetheless that the text “shines a dramatic light on the events of October 7” and contains details that “in our estimation are likely to prove nothing less than historic in hindsight.”

It says its report has been approved for publication by the Israeli military censor.

More on this story here.

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