"We Were Close to Sinwar; He Holds a Bomb and Hostages"

Micha Kobi, a former senior Shin Bet officer who investigated Hamas leader Yehya Sinwar, discusses the chances of reaching a deal and the continuation of the war in Gaza. In an interview with Israel Radio 'Galey Israel', Kobi said: "Sinwar is stalling us. We are playing make-believe with this flawed negotiation for two main reasons: First, because Sinwar is not interested in returning the hostages; he is interested in survival, and if he has hostages alive, he will keep them until the end. Second, the two mediators, Qatar and Egypt, are talking to us with double standards, and we should not believe them as Hamas is essentially their proxy. If Qataris and Egyptians wanted to, all the hostages would be home within a day."

When asked if he believes Sinwar is holding live hostages, Kobi replied: "I assume there are live hostages. He uses them as human shields. I won't go into details, but we could have shot at him. We didn't shoot because he would activate a bomb he is carrying. I can say that the IDF was very close to him and did not shoot to avoid endangering the hostages. He is not worth it; he should be dealt with with a bullet to the head."