Report: Hamas believes 1st Ramadan weekend is more attainable target for deal; Sinwar out of contact for a week

An unnamed Hamas official tells the Wall Street Journal that while there is slow progress on an agreement for a temporary ceasefire and hostage deal, it seems unlikely that it will be reached before Ramadan’s expected start on March 10, and instead may come to fruition by the first weekend of the Muslim holy month.

The report also says Egyptian and Qatari officials say there has been no contact with the Gaza leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, for at least a week.

Yesterday, Israel did not send a negotiating team to Cairo after receiving an unsatisfactory response from Hamas on the latest framework for a hostage deal hammered out in Paris last weekend. The Gaza-based terror organization refused to address Jerusalem’s demand to provide a list of living hostages and to lock down how many Palestinian prisoners Israel must release for every hostage freed, an Israeli official said.

Unnamed officials cited by Channel 12, Ynet and others said Jerusalem suspects Sinwar has no intention of reaching an agreement in the coming days and hopes to escalate violence over Ramadan.

In such a scenario, Israel is wary of an escalation not just along its borders with Gaza and Lebanon, but also across the West Bank, where tensions are high, as well as in Jerusalem, where clashes over the Temple Mount and access to the holy site are widely expected.

Lazar Berman contributed to this report.