Sinwar's September 2023 Warning to Israel Revealed by Former Fatah Official
An interview with former Fatah official Sufian Abu Zaza reveals details of a September 2023 meeting where Yahya Sinwar warned of a looming earthquake regarding negotiations.
Egyptian Al-Ghad channel broadcasted an interview with Sufian Abu Zaza, a former senior Fatah official in the Gaza Strip currently residing in Egypt, detailing a mediation channel and a warning conveyed to Israel in September 2023.
The Meeting with Sinwar
Abu Zaza recounted a meeting with Yahya Sinwar on September 14. According to his testimony, the discussion began routinely regarding Gaza and the prisoner file. Sinwar was calm, but the conversation shifted when he asked Abu Zaza to write down a message.
Before the end of September, we will put cards on the table that will cause an earthquake regarding the negotiations, and they must prepare themselves to empty the prisons, Sinwar stated.
The Israeli Response and Ashkelon Meeting
Abu Zaza immediately informed Muhammad Dahlan and Samir al-Mashharawi, then transmitted the message in both Arabic and Hebrew through Israeli contact channels. Within half an hour, Israeli officials called to verify the message, and two hours later requested an urgent meeting in Ashkelon.
At 9:30 AM the next day, Abu Zaza met in Ashkelon with the commander of the Southern Command and negotiation team official Adi Rotem. They expressed deep concern, noting that no one in Israel's security establishment slept that night.
Despite the warnings, meetings, and communications, the October 7 massacre occurred, leaving the true nature of Sinwar's threatened earthquake unrealized before the outbreak of the Swords of Iron war.
