Sinwar was born in a refugee camp and spent years in an Israeli prison before he rose to the top of the Iran-backed militant group.
What we know
- Israeli forces in Gaza killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced.
- In an address today, Vice President Kamala Harris said Sinwar’s death “gives us an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza.”
- Sinwar, who was born in a refugee camp and spent years in an Israeli prison before he rose to the top of the Iran-backed militant group, was described as a “dead man walking” by the Israeli military in the days after the Oct. 7 attacks.
- After Sinwar’s body was found and before he was definitively identified, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant wrote on X: “‘You will pursue your enemies and they will fall before you by the sword.’ — Leviticus 26. Our enemies cannot hide. We will pursue and eliminate them.”
- Hostages’ families have called on the Israeli government to use Sinwar’s death to negotiate for their relatives’ release, while Palestinians are voicing hope that it may bring an end to the war.
Sinwar won’t be grieved by most Palestinians in Gaza, former Camp David adviser says
There will be some who grieve the death of Yahya Sinwar, but it’s doubtful that most Gazans will be among them, said Omar Dajani, who worked with the Palestinian negotiating team peace talks during the Clinton administration.
“Even if one could put to the side the tens of thousands of lives lost and the many more lives destroyed … I believe the assault Sinwar masterminded made finding a way for Jews and Palestinians to live together in peace on our common homeland much, much harder,” Dajani said.
Sinwar’s actions made it harder to demand that international law be applied, and it made the return of Palestinian refugees harder. The future of Palestinian workers trying to make a living will be more difficult, as well as cohabitation in Jerusalem between Israelis and Palestinians, he said.
“And he did it all without any concrete notion of how it would secure his contorted and fantastical vision of liberation,” Dajani said.
Sinwar’s killing could mark ‘new phase’ for Hamas, expert says
Sinwar’s death is “significant for Israel’s government … at the very least in terms of it being a political win, with the commemoration of the Oct. 7 attack only having just passed,” Mahdi Ghuloom, a regional security analyst at Le Beck International, told NBC News.
In an email before Israel confirmed it had killed Sinwar, Ghuloom said the development could “present a window of opportunity for cease-fire talks to resume,” adding: “Sinwar was reportedly a big barrier to such talks from succeeding.”
“We are already seeing statements by Israeli hostage families calling on PM Netanyahu to grasp such an opportunity and secure a hostage release deal. Whether the Israeli government does seize this opportunity remains to be seen, as well as who may replace Sinwar,” he said.
He said Sinwar’s death could also “mark a new phase for Hamas” in its approach to the fight against Israeli forces.
Sinwar and two others opened fire on Israeli troops, IDF says
Intelligence tipped off the IDF that Hamas leadership was near the Rafah area, which led to weeks of operations in southern Gaza, IDF spokesperson Doron Spielman told MSNBC.
The area the leaders could move in was restricted, which Spielman said troops hoped would force them to make a mistake. Sinwar eventually fell into the trap when he and two others started firing on IDF soldiers, he said.
“The Israeli troops returned fire — also with a tank mortar shell — the mortar shell hit the building, killing Sinwar and the other terrorists,” Spielman said.
Rita Lifschitz, whose in-laws were kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, fears Yahya Sinwar’s death makes the safe release of hostages less likely. She is worried about what Hamas’ next leader may do.
Israel dealt a ‘lethal blow’ to Hamas by killing Sinwar, researcher says
No terrorist ‘anywhere’ can escape justice, Biden says
Biden said Sinwar’s death was good for Israel, the U.S. and the world.
Israel’s military has been chasing Hamas’ leadership with help from American intelligence, Biden said, “forcing them onto the run” over the last year. Sinwar’s death proves that “no terrorists anywhere in the world can escape justice, no matter how long it takes,” he added.
NBC
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.