Jordan Daily – Efforts to pressure Hamas leadership in ongoing negotiations have stalled, as U.S. and Qatari mediators face significant obstacles in exerting influence over the group’s decision-makers, according to officials familiar with the discussions. The challenges are attributed to both technical difficulties and the opaque nature of Hamas’s internal communications.
American officials have repeatedly called on mediators to push Hamas into accepting a “revised proposal” designed to bridge existing gaps. However, intermediaries in Qatar and Egypt have reported back that Hamas representatives abroad are “entirely disconnected” from the group’s decision-making process, rendering any attempts to apply pressure largely ineffective. This disconnect is exacerbated by the fact that Hamas’s Shura Council has yet to receive “nominations or authorizations” from the group’s leader, Yahya Sinwar.
Egyptian officials have encountered significant difficulties in establishing contact with Sinwar or with key figures in Gaza aligned with him. Compounding the problem, the Shura Council has not granted direct authority to any deputies outside of Gaza, leaving them without the power to negotiate on Sinwar’s behalf, according to media reports seen by the Jordan Daily.
Sinwar has remained completely out of sight since the last round of negotiations in Doha, effectively cutting off communication through all conventional channels. This has led to a situation where the negotiations are increasingly being conducted between the U.S., Israel, and the mediators—without active participation from Hamas.
Hamas political leaders based in Turkey and Qatar have informed mediators that they currently lack the “authority” to negotiate or to respond on behalf of “Hamas inside Gaza.” This is not only due to Sinwar’s unavailability but also because the official leadership has not yet delegated negotiation powers or appointed a deputy with the authority to represent Sinwar in the talks.
A Western diplomat based in Cairo described the current state of negotiations as a dialogue between Israeli and American delegations and the mediators, with no real counterpart from Hamas at the table. “Sinwar has become a ghost,” the diplomat said, adding that those advocating for the revised American proposal now face the daunting task of finding this elusive figure.
