Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the man behind the planning of the October 7 massacre, spoke to Israeli hostages while they were held in Gaza, one Israeli who was released from captivity this week told her family, Israeli media reported on Monday evening.

Sinwar allegedly arrived in a tunnel where she and other hostages were being held, checked how they are, and told them in fluent Hebrew that they would not be harmed. 

Israel's Channel 12 claims that this report was verified by her investigators in Israel's security systems.

Current concerns among Israel's defense and military analysts relate to Sinwar's plans for the rest of this war - namely, the exploitation of the humanitarian crisis among Palestinian civilians in order to advance Hamas's terror goals.

Sinwar's Israeli interrogation of 1989

The use of his people's suffering for the terrorist organization's gain is nothing new to Sinwar, whose 1989 police interrogation in Israel was recently unveiled, during which he expressed a deep antipathy for the Palestinian people. 
A picture of Yahya Sinwar is shown during Defense Minister Yoav Gallant's press conference on November 4, 2023 (credit: ARIEL HERMONY/DEFENSE MINISTRY)
A picture of Yahya Sinwar is shown during Defense Minister Yoav Gallant's press conference on November 4, 2023 (credit: ARIEL HERMONY/DEFENSE MINISTRY)
For example, in 1987, Sinwar wanted to experiment with dropping explosive charges. Of all places, he chose Shifa Hospital in Gaza City as a dummy target.