Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, met on Friday with the Qatari envoy to the Gaza Strip, Muhamad al-Amadi. They discussed various options to improve the quality of life for Gaza residents and agreed on a money transfer to the tune of $12 million to 120 families in need, supporting 500 young couples wishing to marry and to invest $1 million to repair the homes of the poor.
Another subject that came up in their conversation was the transfer of $ one million to support university graduates. Sinwar's office reported that: “Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip and the Qatari envoy al-Amadi discussed [the formation of a] a gas line to help produce electricity”. This is the second time where a documentation of Sinwar is shown in the media in the last three months.
This appearance takes place only a few days after a report in the New Arab Newspaper claimed an Egyptian delegation visited Israel and Gaza last week – to prevent Israeli security forces from targeting two Hamas officials who are opposed to the unofficial ceasefire understanding as it currently stands. According to the report, one of the targets was Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar himself. Sources told the newspaper that another target was Marwan Issa who is considered the acting leader of Hamas’ military wing.These sources stated that Israel sees the two of them as responsible for the escalation in the Gaza Strip, and wanted to eliminate them as a result. Last week Israeli authorities announced they will allow an additional 2000 Gaza merchants to enter Israel to work, this will bring the amount of Gaza residents able to enter the country daily to work up to 7,000 people. A step seen by some as an indication Israel would like to see the Gaza Strip enjoy some stability.
