Latest Developments
Hamas military chief Yahya Sinwar is reportedly facing growing pressure from his commanders to agree to a ceasefire deal with Israel, according to comments attributed to CIA director Bill Burns at a closed-door meeting on July 13. A CNN report on July 16 cited an unidentified source who described Burns’ assessment at the meeting that senior Hamas commanders were tired from more than nine months of fighting and were pressuring Sinwar to accept a ceasefire deal. Burns, who has represented the United States at multiple rounds of ceasefire talks in Egypt and Qatar, said that the pressure from the commanders means that the chance of Israel and Hamas agreeing to a ceasefire is greater now than in the recent past, although he added that the final stages of negotiations are always difficult.
Expert Analysis
“Hamas is feeling the heat. Egypt appears to have quietly but finally started to secure the Philadelphi Corridor, which is the way Hamas has re-armed and replenished its resources. In the meantime, the Israelis appear to have increasingly accurate intelligence on key Hamas assets. The war may not end tomorrow. But one gets a sense that Hamas is finally reaching its breaking point.” — Jonathan Schanzer, FDD Senior Vice President for Research
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