On Tuesday’s edition of CNN International’s “CNN Newsroom,” CNN Jerusalem Correspondent Jeremy Diamond stated that Israel’s reported targeting of Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar in a strike in Gaza raises “questions about Israel’s commitment to this negotiating process,” and follows Hamas engaging in “what’s widely been described as a goodwill gesture” by releasing hostage Edan Alexander.
Diamond stated that, according to “a senior Israeli official and two sources familiar with the matter”, Sinwar was the target of a strike in Gaza.
He added, “[T]his strike, the timing of it, is incredibly notable, coming just one day after Hamas — in what’s widely been described as a goodwill gesture — released the last living American hostage in Gaza, the Israeli soldier, Edan Alexander. And following Edan Alexander’s release, which was intended to kind of jump-start these hostage deal and ceasefire negotiations, U.S. officials have been sounding much more optimistic about the prospects of a deal. But now, Israel has targeted the man who would have to greenlight this deal inside of the Gaza Strip, raising a series of questions about the feasibility of reaching a deal in the coming days and questions about Israel’s commitment to this negotiating process, even as they sent a delegation earlier on Tuesday to Qatar to pursue these negotiations, and time is very much ticking down. The Israeli prime minister, on Tuesday, making very clear that he intends to move forward with plans for the Israeli military to vastly expand its military operations in Gaza as soon as next week.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
Read the full article here