FEARS loom of the next Hamas terror mastermind being released in the hostage-prisoner exchange with Israel – just as October 7 plotter Yahya Sinwar was in 2011.
As Israel and Hamas finally agree to a ceasefire deal after a brutal 15-month war, Mossad won’t drop surveillance – but the terror group could still take advantage, a British Army Commander suggests.
GettyPalestinian fighters from the military wing of the Hamas movement seen on the back of a truck during a military parade[/caption]
ReutersIsrael and Hamas have agreed on a peace deal, according to mediators in the Middle East[/caption]
EPAThe ceasefire deal could mark the start of the end of the conflict in the Middle East[/caption]
Hopes for a ceasefire plan, brokered by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, have been in the works for over a year.
The first phase of the ceasefire deal sees the release of 33 “mostly alive” hostages – possibly including British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28 – in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
But this is in danger of collapse after Israel accused Hamas terrorists of “last-minute blackmail.”
Israeli air strikes were reported to have killed 73 Palestinians in the 25-mile coastal strip overnight and, hours later, Israel accused Hamas of reneging on key parts of the complex deal.
A spokesman for Netanyahu’s office said: “Hamas is backing out of the explicit understandings agreed upon with the mediators and Israel in a last-minute blackmail attempt.
“Israel will not set a date for a cabinet and government meeting until the mediators announce that Hamas has approved all the details of the agreement.”
Israel’s cabinet was set to vote on the ceasefire deal later today but the crucial ratification meeting is now in doubt.
Amidst the breakthrough ceasefire deal chaos, fears have risen that Israel could be releasing Hamas’ new terrorist mastermind from prison – especially as the organisation’s dead leader Yahya Sinwar spent over 22 years in Israeli jails.
The ruthless terrorist was released in 2011 as a part of a prison swap deal involving the release of 1,027 Palestinian and Israeli Arab prisoners in exchange for Israli soldier, Gilad Shalit.
AFPHamas leader Yahya Sinwar holds the child of an Al-Qassam Brigades fighter, who was killed in the recent fighting with Israel[/caption]
ReutersYahya Sinwar was killed by Israeli troops in October[/caption]
Israeli troops gathered around the body believed to be Sinwar in October
But Sinwar’s time in prison didn’t soften his stance on Hamas terrorism and instead escalated his commitment to the group, eventually leading to him plotting the October 7 massacre.
While Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon believes it’s a “real concern” that many Palestinian prisoners are to be freed, Israel will have knowledge on each potential terrorist.
He told The Sun: “I think one has to look at the fact that these prisoners have been in Israeli custody.
“They now know exactly who all these people are.
“ Israelis are absolutely past masters at this and I’m sure they wouldn’t be going into it if they thought that that was the case.”
The Colonel added that Israel claims to have “destroyed and denuded” Hamas over the course of the brutal conflict, making the group a viable force no longer, much like it did to Hezbollah.
While Mr de Bretton-Gordon assured that Israel will not relax its surveillance on the terrorists , Hamas could take advantage of the breakthrough deal.
He said: “ [The ceasefire] gives Israeli forces [time] to sort of test and adjust, and with the threat of attack off Hamas, then no doubt they will be less scrupulous about their security and hiding, so it’ll provide opportunities.
“ We have always assumed that the Israelis, particularly Mossad, their security agency, has absolutely everything under control.
“But, you know, you can’t cover every single base all of the time.”
However, while the ceasefire could risk serving as a pause for Hamas to plan future attacks, Mr de Bretton-Gordon believes the terror group hasn’t received enough “breathing space” from Israel to do so.
He added: “ Nobody expects the Israeli surveillance forces to stop working the minute the ceasefire happens, I expect they will be upping their capabilities.”
Before the ceasefire deal was announced, Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a chilling claim that Hamas has matched thousands of losses with new killers.
RexA protestor holds up a placard with the photo of Ofer Calderon holding back her tears during a protest in Tel Aviv[/caption]
GettyRelatives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza are continuing their sit-in protest in a tent set up following the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel[/caption]
List of hostages Hamas say they will release
Women and children:
Romi Gonen, 23
Emily Damari, 27
Arbel Yehud, 29
Doron Steinbrecher, 31
Ariel Bibas, 5
Kfir Bibas, 1
Shiri Silberman Bibas, 33
Liri Albag, 19
Karina Ariev, 20
Agam Berger, 21
Danielle Gilboa, 20
Naama Levy, 20
Rest of the men:
Ohad Ben-Ami, 58
Gadi Moshe Moses, 80
Keith Siegel, 65
Ofer Calderon, 54
Eli Sharabi, 52
Itzik Elgarat, 70
Shlomo Mansour, 86
Ohad Yahalomi, 50
Youssef Hamis Ziyadne, 54
Oded Lifshitz, 84
Tsahi Idan, 50
Source: Times of Israel
Blinken warned that the militant group remains a deeply dangerous force in Gaza with its never-ending cycle of recruitment and insurgency within its ranks.
The Secretary of State revealed in an address on the Biden administration’s Middle East policy: “Indeed, we assess that Hamas has recruited almost as many new militants as it has lost.
“That is a recipe for an enduring insurgency and perpetual war.”
The Secretary’s chilling words come after horrifying reports emerged that infamous Sinwar’s brother Mohammed – who has taken over as Hamas leader – is working to rebuild the terror group.
The younger Sinwar, dubbed “The Shadow,” is recruiting thousands of young Palestinians to form the new generation of Hamas fighters.
While Mr de Bretton-Gordon believes Blinken “may well be right,” being a terrorist requires extensive training that the group no longer have the capabilities to provide.
He said: “As we’ve seen in Ukraine, untrained conscripts are just cannon fodder, be they Russians or be they North Koreans.
“But training these people in the arts of terrorism is a substantial activity.
“To be a successful terrorist, this might sound a strange thing to say, you need to be well trained, talented and dedicated to your cause.
“Now, with the environment in Gaza at the moment, I would say that they’re pretty much impossible to train these people – and even more impossible if there is a ceasefire.”
He explained that there may be some young men who have been persuaded to join Hamas but unless they’re trained, they “will be of no use to the organisation”.
The Colonel added: “That will be a key thing that the international community, whoever helps police the ceasefire, and no doubt the Israelis, will be looking at very closely.”
Mohammed has taken over as Hamas’s leader after his brother’s death
IDFMohammed Sinwar is working to rebuild the terror group[/caption]
Mohammed Sinwar replaced the mastermind behind the October 7 massacre after Yahya’s death by Israeli troops in October.
Officials feared his brother’s rise to power would bring a new level of threat as he was seen as more radical than his brother.
The Wall Street Journal reports that following Sinwar’s death, Hamas officials tried to form a collective leadership council but the terror group’s fighters opted to to operate autonomously under Mohammed.
He is believed to be around 50 years old and has been operating largely behind the scenes, earning him the nickname “Shadow.”
Like his older brother, he joined Hamas at an early age and was considered close to the head of the group’s armed wing, Mohammed Deif.
But unlike Yahya he has not spent time in Israeli prison and is “less understood by Israel’s security establishment.”
A senior Israeli official from the IDF’s Southern Command said: “We are working hard to find him.”
RexPalestinians celebrate after news of the ceasefire broke[/caption]
RexRelatives and supporters of hostages held in the Gaza Strip embrace following the announcement[/caption]
Mohammed is also believed to have been behind the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006 which eventually led to the release of his brother in a prisoner swap.
He has been named by political analysts as Hamas’s most senior commander in Gaza alongside Izz al-Din Haddad – and according to Israeli officials they have the final say in the ongoing ceasefire negotiations.
THREE-PHASE AGREEMENT
The ceasefire is built around a three-phase plan that aims to address both the hostage crisis and the broader humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The Israel-Hamas deal outlines a six-week initial ceasefire phase that includes gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from central Gaza and the return of displaced Palestinians to north Gaza, says an official briefed on the agreement.
It will require 600 truckloads of humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza every day of ceasefire, 50 of them carrying fuel, with 300 of the trucks allocated to north.
The first phase will focus on the release of 33 hostages, including women, children, and the elderly, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
The hostages released in the initial 42 days are reportedly those in critical condition – including one-year-old Kfir Bibas.
The next to be freed will be female civilians and female soldiers before finally the remaining civilian men, Channel 12 reports.
Biden also announced that part of the deal will see US hostages released in this initial phase.
During this stage, Israeli forces will withdraw from population centers in Gaza, allowing displaced Palestinians to return to what remains of their homes.
What happened on October 7?
ON OCTOBER 7, 2023, Hamas launched a brutal surprise attack on Israel, marking one of the darkest days in the nation’s history.
Terrorists stormed across the border from Gaza, killing over 1,200 people — most of them civilians — and kidnapping 250 others, including women, children, and the elderly.
The coordinated assault saw heavily armed fighters infiltrate Israeli towns, kibbutzim, and military bases, unleashing indiscriminate violence.
Innocent families were slaughtered in their homes, and graphic footage of the atrocities spread across social media, leaving the world in shock.
The massacre triggered a swift and massive retaliatory response from Israel, escalating into a full-scale war.
The attack not only reignited long-standing tensions in the region but also left deep scars on both sides of the conflict, setting the stage for the 15 months of devastation that followed.
Humanitarian aid is expected to flood the region, with 600 trucks of supplies entering Gaza daily.
The second phase will see Hamas release the remaining hostages, primarily male soldiers, in exchange for further prisoner releases and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Over 1,000 Palestinian security prisoners are set to be freed – including at least 250 terrorists – in return for the hostages, Times of Israel reports.
Biden says phase two will usher in a “permanent end to the war”.
In the third and final phase, the bodies of hostages who did not survive captivity will be returned to their families.
In exchange, Gaza would receive a three- to five-year reconstruction plan overseen by international authorities.
Over 1.9 million Palestinians have been displaced since the start of the bloody war – with many of their homes decimated in the conflict.
One of the key sticking points which prevented a deal from being reached sooner was the timeline for Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza.
Israel has always been adamant about staying in Gaza as to prevent any future surprise Hamas attack similar to October 7.
Netanyahu has refused to waiver on removing troops from the Philadelhpi Corridor, which borders Gaza and Egypt, and the Netzarim Corridor which splits North Gaza from the South.
Far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has said in the past that the Philadelphi corridor is a “red line” which shouldn’t be crossed.
But a senior Israeli official close to the ceasefire talks says Hamas “folded” on its demands over the Philadelphi Corridor, Times of Israel reports.
UK PM Sir Keir Starmer described the ceasefire deal is “long overdue” and called for a “huge surge in humanitarian aid” to Gaza.
The Mega AgencyUnited States President Joe Biden gives remarks as US Vice President Kamala Harris and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken look on[/caption]
GettyPeople gather in front of Israeli Consulate to celebrate after the announcement of an cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas[/caption]
GettyRelatives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza are continuing their sit-in protest in a tent set up following the ceasefire agreement[/caption]
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