An investigation by the French newspaper Le Figaro reported that the actual leader of the Al-Qassam Brigades affiliated with the Hamas movement is not Muhammad Al-Deif, but rather Muhammad Al-Sinwar, brother of Yahya Al-Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza.

The newspaper said that the three leaders (Al-Deif, Muhammad, and Yahya Al-Sanwar) were the planners of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation on October 7, and that none of the other leaders or even the “allies” knew about its planning or timing.

"Le Figaro" quoted Hamas leadership in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan, as saying that the only one who was informed of the operation half an hour before its launch was Saleh Al-Arori, the movement's deputy head in Gaza, with the aim of informing the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah.

As part of the camouflage for the operation, both Yahya Al-Sinwar and Deif appointed new commanders to lead most of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, instead of those known to Israel, but ostensibly they continued to hold their positions in order to deceive the enemy, including Ayman Nofal, who was killed in an Israeli raid as a “Chief of intelligence in the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades,” according to the newspaper.

Le Figaro, citing sources in Hamas and Lebanon, adds, “The truth is that Hezbollah was surprised by the operation (Al-Aqsa Flood), and was even more surprised of not informing Iran of it as well.

The newspaper reported that Muhammad Al-Sinwar is responsible for building the largest tunnel discovered by the Israeli army in the northern Gaza Strip, citing Israeli sources.

On the other hand, the “Le Figaro” investigation quoted Khaled Meshaal, head of the Hamas movement abroad, saying regarding the “solution negotiations” that “when the time comes (that is, when a Palestinian state is created), the issue of recognition of Israel will be examined. But since everyone inside Hamas does not agrees to that, as it (Hamas) does not want to advance further than that.”

Meshaal said: “But reaching a long-term truce with Israel is certainly negotiable.”

He continues, "We learned the lesson from Oslo in 1993, (the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat) recognized Israel, which did not offer him anything in return."

But he adds: “By amending our 2017 Charter (the 1987 Charter calling for the destruction of Israel), Hamas joined other Palestinian factions in agreeing on creating a state on the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital, and the right of return for refugees, without mentioning Hamas’ recognition of Israel”. 

On the other hand, “Le Figaro” reported that a meeting was held a month ago (in Qatar) between Meshaal and Ismail Haniyeh on the one hand, and Samir Masharawi, who is close to the former Fatah leader Muhammad Dahlan (currently head of the reformist movement in Fatah), and Nasser al-Qudwa, the potential successor to Palestinian President Mahmoud. Abbas, with the aim of “revitalizing” the Palestinian Authority, in accordance with the wishes of the United States, for the post-Hamas era in Gaza.

The “Le Figaro” investigation quotes Ehud Yaari, a member of the American Research Center at the Washington Institute, saying, “When Sinwar learned of this meeting, he warned Haniyeh that such behavior was scandalous, and demanded that it be put to an end until a permanent ceasefire was reached.”