Reports that the Biden administration has offered to trade Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader believed to have masterminded the 7 October attack, in exchange for guarantees that the Israeli military stay out of Rafah have prompted speculation about how much the US knows about Hamas.
Writing in Tablet Magazine, journalist Lee Smith says the alleged offer ̶ first reported by the Washington Post – raises questions about whether the US knows more – and knew more – about Hamas than it has let on.
Smith notes that when the first speculative report came out about an offer by Washington relating to Sinwar, Israel’s former ambassador to the US Michael Oren posted on X: “I am shocked and sickened by reports that the U.S. is withholding from Israel vital information on the whereabouts of senior Hamas leaders in Gaza. Is the administration still our ally?”
Smith speculates that apparent leaks that the Biden administration is withholding actionable intelligence on Hamas’s paramount leader in Gaza suggest that the administration had a wealth of intelligence on the terror group and its plans.
Reports say the Biden administration claimed that its findings were nothing exceptional, but it is suggested that much of reported intelligence was gathered in areas where the US has prevented or discouraged Israeli intelligence from operating.
[Image: Fars Media Corporation, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=148138707]