Yahya Sinwar’s Death: What It Means for Hamas and the Future of the Gaza Conflict
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Hashim Sheikh - . October 18, 2024
- . Update: October 18, 2024 7:14 pm
Yahya Sinwar is the leader of the Hamas group and he got tied up with the Gaza conflict for over a year now. He was the mastermind behind the 7th October attack on Israel by Hamas groups which resulted in up to 1,200 deaths and roughly 250 hostages were captured according to the report. Then an Israeli counterattack destroyed most of the Gaza Strip and killed tens of thousands of Palestinians brutaly.
After a long search, Israeli media reported that Sinwar, who is an important target for Israel, had died “accidentally” by normal IDF soldiers instead of a planned operation. According to reports, on Wednesday in the city of Rafah, Sinwar and two other militants were killed in combat.
For DNA verifying and dental records testing the Israeli troops took Sinwar’s body to Israel. After Sinwar’s identity was confirmed, the Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government announced Sinwar’s death and celebrated it. The Prime Minister also said that this is the “beginning of the end” but that the war, which has resulted in the deaths of over 42,000 Palestinians in Gaza is not over, saying that “the mission ahead of us is still unfinished.”
Even Though the region was devastated and most of its people were forced to escape their home town due to Israel’s ground invasion and bombardment, Sinwar was considered to be the primary reason for Hamas’s determination to not surrender. He was considered as living evidence that Hamas was still undefeated even after being totally destroyed, Israel was stopped from declaring victory by his existence.
With Mr. Sinwar’s passing, Israeli and Palestinians say, a path for a truce in Gaza now seems somewhat more possible since it gives both Israel and Hamas an opportunity to change its stances of where they are standing now. There are still a lot of issues which need to be solved and any settlement in Gaza will only have a limited impact on the wider conflict between Israel, Hezbollah and the regional allies of Hamas.
It’s unclear what path Hamas would follow in the state of Mr. Sinwar’s passing. Hamas-affiliated Palestinian and analyst Fuad Khuffash said that while Mr. Sinwar’s passing would affect the organisation severely but its primary negotiating positions will probably remain unchanged.
