U.S. officials are maintaining that Hamas’ reported decision to tap Yahya Sinwar to replace Ismail Haniyeh as the Palestinian militant group’s top leader following the latter’s killing in Iran last week will not change the trajectory of negotiations over a cease-fire and hostage release deal in the war in Gaza.
“He has always been the chief decision maker when it comes to negotiations over the course of these now nine months, so, in effect, nothing really changes in that regard,” John Kirby, a White House national security spokesperson, told reporters on Wednesday of Sinwar, referring to him as the “architect” of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked that war.
Kirby’s comments echoed those of Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday night, who told reporters Sinwar “has been and remains the primary decider” on a potential cease-fire and hostage deal.
“And so I think this only underscores the fact that it is really on him to decide whether to move forward with a cease-fire,” Blinken said.
The U.S. along with Egypt and Qatar have been working for weeks to put into place the first stage of a multi-phase plan laid out by President Joe Biden in May that ultimately hopes to end the fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Both Blinken and the White House on Tuesday referred to the negotiations as in the “final stage.”
“We are as close as we think we have ever been and that’s why we talk about it in these terms,” Kirby said on Wednesday when asked about the new use of the phrase. “There is a good proposal before both sides and they need to both accept that proposal so we can get this in place.”
Blinken on Tuesday characterized the moment as “decisive.”
“The negotiations have reached their final stage, and we believe strongly that they should come across the finish line very, very soon,” he said.
But it comes as tensions in the region are flaring and the world is on edge bracing for a potential escalation after the killings of a Hezbollah commander and the Hamas leader, Haniyeh, in Iran’s capital city.
Israel has claimed responsibility for the strike that killed the Hezbollah official in Lebanon, where the militant group is based. It has not said it carried out the strike in Tehran that killed the Palestinian militant group’s political leader but both Hamas and Iran have blamed Israel and pledged revenge. Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei referred to it as his country’s “duty.”
Hezbollah and Hamas – both designated terrorist groups by the U.S. – are backed by Iran.
The White House has stressed that it is intensely focused on calming the tensions boiling over in the Middle East and getting the cease-fire deal in place through diplomacy.
Biden on Tuesday held calls with both Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al Thani of Qatar and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to discuss de-escalation in the region and the cease-fire negotiations, according to readout of the calls from the White House. Blinken on Tuesday spoke with officials in Jordan following Biden’s call with the nation’s King Abdullah II on Monday.
At the same time, the U.S. is also making clear it is prepared to come to Israel’s defense should Iran or one of its proxy groups attack.
“If there is an attack, what I can tell you for sure is the United States is and will remain postured to help defend Israel with a wide range of military capabilities,” Kirby said on Wednesday.
The Pentagon on Friday announced that it was moving U.S. resources to the region in a bid to “increase support for the defense of Israel, and to ensure the United States is prepared to respond to various contingencies.”
Iran carried out an unprecedented direct attack on Israel in April in response to the country’s killing of two Iranian generals in Damascus. The U.S. with the aid of some of its allies in the Middle East came together to help Israel thwart the attack.
Asked whether those nations or others in the region would come to Israel’s defense again, Kirby was noncommittal.
“What other nations decide to do or don’t do is up to them to speak to,” he said.