Israeli forces in Gaza killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on October 16. Sinwar was a leading mastermind of the October 7 attack on Israel last year that sparked war.
A unit of Israeli trainee squad commanders patrolled in southern Gaza on Wednesday. The soldiers encountered a small group of fighters. Backed by drones, the Israeli unit engaged in a firefight. Three Palestinian militants were killed. Israeli fire damaged part of a building where the militants took cover. Israeli soldiers searched the building after the skirmish. They recognized one body as that of Sinwar.
Sinwar’s presence in the firefight was a surprise. Israeli and U.S. intelligence assumed he would be hiding underground, surrounded by Israeli hostages. He was an assassination target. Israeli spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari says the military believes weeks of searches in the area likely pushed Sinwar to come out of hiding.
Sinwar was a major Hamas leader inside the Gaza Strip for years. He rose to the group’s top position in July. The leader before him, Ismail Haniyeh, died that month in an apparent Israeli strike in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
Hamas confirmed Sinwar’s death on Friday. His longtime deputy, Khalil al-Hayya, says, “He died fighting and confronting the occupation army to his final moments.”
Israel has assassinated dozens of Hamas leaders and thousands of its fighters since the group started in the 1980s. The long-term aim of Hamas is to replace Israel with an Islamic Palestinian state. Before the war began last October, Hamas was the functioning government for Gaza’s 2.2 million people.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will keep fighting until the remaining hostages are released. He vows Israel will stay in Gaza to prevent a weakened Hamas from rearming. Israel declares it will prevent Hamas from having any governing role. Hamas says it will not release any hostages until there is a cease-fire in Gaza and Israeli troops withdraw.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant addressed Hamas fighters, saying it “is time to go out, release the hostages, raise your hands, surrender.”
Netanyahu said Israel had “settled its account” with the man behind the October 7 attack, and that “evil has suffered a heavy blow.” But, he added, “the task before us is not yet complete.”
He said anyone in Hamas who surrendered weapons and assisted with the return of the hostages would be allowed to leave Gaza safely. About a third of the captives still in Gaza are believed to be dead.
Many Palestinians do not claim allegiance to Hamas. Some in Gaza celebrated the news of Sinwar’s death. They blame him for a war that has caused the deaths of tens of thousands in the region.
Yet Hamas’ call to violent resistance strikes a chord with others. The creation of Israel forced many Palestinian refugees and their descendants into exile. The years of strife and the heavy losses of the Gaza war have increased resentment amongst many Palestinians. Hamas depends on that anger to draw recruits to its cause.
Ahmed Hamdouna fled his home in northern Gaza. He says Hamas can replace Sinwar. “After the leader, a thousand leaders will come. After the man, a thousand men will come.”
