For Biden, Sinwar’s death injects uncertainty — but also an opening — into resolving Gaza conflict

For months, frustrated American officials looking to end the war in Gaza have mused quietly about the one scenario they believed could loosen deadlocked ceasefire talks: the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, believed to be hiding deep underneath Gaza in the group’s network of tunnels.

For months, frustrated American officials looking to end the war in Gaza have mused quietly about the one scenario they believed could loosen deadlocked ceasefire talks: the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, believed to be hiding deep underneath Gaza in the group’s network of tunnels. Whether that is what transpires over the coming days remains an open question. Without his singular operational control, the group’s constellation of commanders, believed to be holding dozens of Israeli hostages in the Hamas tunnels, could be left to their own devices and adopt a new approach. How to strike a hostage and ceasefire deal, and with whom, is now a matter of uncertainty for American officials, who spent the hours after Sinwar’s death trying to determine if he had a successor. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in August that “the fate of the deal” — speaking to the ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas — was in Sinwar’s hands. But US officials stopped short of saying Thursday that his death will result in a deal overnight. “We don’t know what this means yet,” said one US official, adding there could be “rapid” movement towards a ceasefire and hostage deal or “there could still be a long path ahead.” “It would help a lot to make that realistic,” a second senior US official said, referring to Sinwar’s death.