TV report: Sinwar still demanding guaranteed, unconditional end to the war; has other objections to deal

As Israel awaits a formal reply to what US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called its “extraordinarily generous” hostage-truce offer, Channel 12 news cites unnamed Hamas sources saying that the terror group’s Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar has three specific demands that the Egyptian mediators are currently trying to resolve, including with US assistance.

First and foremost, according to the TV station’s Middle East commentator Ehud Yaari, Sinwar, as he has done for months, is demanding a guaranteed end to the war. Specifically, he wants to “completely change” the clause in the proposal that provides for negotiations on a sustainable calm for Gaza to begin on the 16th day of the initial, 40-day phase of the truce. Instead, he wants “a written obligation for an unconditional end to the fighting,” says Yaari.

Second, Sinwar opposes giving Israel the right to bar certain Palestinian security prisoners with blood on their hands from the West Bank and instead send them to Gaza or exile.

And thirdly, Sinwar wants specifics regarding materials that won’t be allowed into Gaza for its reconstruction. Presumably, says Yaari, this is to ensure that Hamas would be able to rebuild its tunnels and other military infrastructure.