The death of Yahya Sinwar is Israel’s biggest victory yet in the war against Hamas in Gaza.
His death is a serious blow to the Palestinian organization, which he turned into a fighting force that inflicted the greatest defeat on the State of Israel in its history.
He did not die in a planned special forces operation, but in a chance encounter with Israeli forces in Rafah, southern Gaza.
A photo taken at the scene shows Sinwar, dressed in combat fatigues, lying dead in the rubble of a building that was hit by a tank shell.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, praised the soldiers and made clear that, no matter how great the victory, It was not the end of the war.
“Today we have once again made clear what happens to those who harm us. Today we have once again shown the world the victory of good over evil.
“But the war, my dears, is not over yet. “It is difficult and it is costing us dearly.”
“We still have great challenges ahead of us. We need resistance, unity, courage and firmness. “Together we will fight and, with God’s help, together we will win.”
Netanyahu and the overwhelming majority of Israelis who support the war in Gaza needed a victory.
Israel’s challenge
The Israeli prime minister has repeated many times his war goals: to destroy Hamas as a military and political force, and to bring the hostages home.
None of these objectives have been achieveddespite a year of war that has killed at least 42,000 Palestinians and left much of Gaza in ruins.
But the hostages held by Hamas are not free and the Palestinian organization is fighting and has managed to kill Israeli troops.
Killing Sinwar was a victory desired by Israel. But until Netanyahu can claim that the conflict’s other goals have been achieved, the war will, as he says, continue.
Yahya Sinwar was born in 1962 in a refugee camp in Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip. He was five years old when Israel took the territory from Egypt in the 1967 war.
His family was among more than 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were driven from their homes by Israeli forces in the 1948 war in which Israel gained its independence.
His family came from the city now known as Ashkelon, which is near the northern border of the Gaza Strip.
At age 20, he was convicted by Israel of killing four Palestinian informants. During the 22 years he spent in prison he learned Hebrew, studied his enemy and believed he had discovered how to fight them.
His time in jail also meant that Israel had his dental history and a sample of his DNAwhich meant they could identify his body.
Sinwar was freed as one of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners who were exchanged in 2011 for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
On October 7 last year, in a series of meticulously planned attacks, Sinwar and his men inflicted the worst defeat in Israel’s history, causing collective trauma that is still deeply felt.
The slaughter of around 1,200 Israelis, the taking of hostages and the celebration of their enemies reminded many of the Nazi Holocaust.
Sinwar’s own experience in a prisoner exchange must have convinced him of the value and power of taking hostages.
“We will not give up until everyone returns”
In Tel Aviv, families of the 101 remaining hostages in Gaza – Israel says half of them may already be dead – gathered in the square where they have been gathering for a year, to urge the Israeli government to begin a new negotiation for his people to return home.
Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, appealed to the prime minister.
“Netanyahu, do not bury the hostages. “Go now to the mediators and the public and present a new Israeli initiative.”
“For me Matan and the rest of the hostages in the tunnels, time has run out. You have the photos of the victory. Now bring an agreement!”
“If Netanyahu does not seize this moment and does not stand up now to present a new Israeli initiative – even at the cost of ending the war – it means that he has decided to abandon the hostages in an effort to prolong the war and strengthen his government ”.
“We will not give up until everyone returns.”
Hamas: beyond a leader
Many Israelis believe Netanyahu wants to prolong the war in Gaza to delay the day of reckoning for his role in the security failures that allowed Sinwar and his men to enter Israel, and perhaps postpone indefinitely the resumption of his trial on serious charges. of corruption.
Netanyahu denies those accusations, insisting that only “total victory” in Gaza over Hamas will restore Israeli security.
Like other news organizations, Israel does not allow the BBC to cross into Gaza, except on exceptional and supervised trips with the military.
At the ruins of Khan Yunis, Sinwar’s birthplace, Palestinians interviewed for the BBC by trusted local journalists were defiant. They said the war would continue.
“This war does not depend on Sinwar, Haniyeh or Mishalnor of any leader or official,” said Dr. Ramadan Faris.
“It is a war of extermination against the Palestinian peopleas we all know and understand. The problem is much bigger than Sinwar or anyone else.”
Adnan Ashour said some people were sad and others were indifferent about Sinwar’s death.
“They’re not just after us. They want the entire Middle East. “They are fighting in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen… This is a war between us and the Jews since 1919, more than 100 years.”
He was asked if Sinwar’s death would affect Hamas.
“I hope not, God willing. Let me explain: Hamas is not just Sinwar… It is the cause of a people“.
The war continues in Gaza. Twenty-five Palestinians were killed in an attack in northern Gaza. Israel said it hit a Hamas command center. Doctors at the local hospital stated that the dozens of wounded they treated were civilians.
Parachute aid resumed after the Americans said Israel had to allow in more food and supplies.
All Hamas leaders since the 1990s have been killed by Israel, but there has always been a successor.
While Israel celebrates Sinwar’s death, Hamas still holds hostages and continues fighting.
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