‘Hamas to continue Gaza cease-fire negotiations under Sinwar’

ISTANBUL (AA) – Hamas will continue Gaza cease-fire negotiations after the selection of Yahya Sinwar as its new political chief, a group leader said on Wednesday.

“The negotiations were managed by the leadership, and Sinwar was not far from the negotiation process. He was part of its details,” Osama Hamdan told Anadolu.

Hamas named Sinwar as its new political chief on Tuesday to succeed Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran on July 31.

Hamas and Iran have accused Israel of carrying out Haniyeh’s assassination. Tel Aviv has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.

“The negotiation process will continue,” Hamdan affirmed. “The problem was not Hamas, but Israel, (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu, and the US, which was not sincere in its mediation or in its attempt to push for a cease-fire.”

For months, the US, Qatar and Egypt have been trying for an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and cease-fire.

But the mediation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’s demand to stop the war.

– ‘Flexible’ Sinwar –

Hamdan said Hamas will remain committed to working for a cease-fire in Gaza, full Israeli withdrawal, ending the siege, rebuilding the enclave and swapping prisoners.

Sinwar “will continue moving in this direction,” he added. “Sinwar has a high degree of flexibility in managing public affairs.”

Sinwar is on Israel’s kill list, with Tel Aviv accusing him of masterminding the group’s Oct. 7 attack last year.

Hamas has been flexible in talks to reach a cease-fire deal in Gaza, Hamdan said.

“Netanyahu knows well that his attempts for evading will not work,” he said.

“If assassinating Haniyeh was one of Netanyahu’s goals to change the course of the negotiations, he is delusional. The basis of the negotiations is fixed, and the men who negotiated under Haniyeh will continue to work with Sinwar, who was present in all the details of the negotiations.”