Hamas takes a major hit

Yahya Sinwar is dead. The Israeli military announced on Thursday that the militant Islamist terrorist was eliminated in Rafah in southern Gaza along with two other major Hamas leaders in a successful operation. Sinwar’s death came in a routine Israel Defense Forces military action by junior officers. It was a stunning development.

Sinwar was known as the mastermind of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel—arguably the deadliest in Israel’s modern history. When the Gaza war started, Israel declared that one of its major goals was to eliminate Sinwar and vowed to crush Hamas completely.

For a little more than a year, Israel had been hunting Sinwar down.

On Wednesday, Sinwar was killed in a field confrontation in a location where Israeli intelligence didn’t expect him to be. After conducting a DNA test on his body, the results positively identified him. Tactically, Israel likely will not release his body but will use it for negotiations with Hamas toward the release of the Israeli and other hostages that the terror organization has held for more than a year.

What does his death mean for the Gaza war and the future of Hamas?

The elimination of Sinwar is a good day for humanity, as he can no longer hurt Israelis or Palestinians. He planned evil and vicious attacks against Israelis and inhumanely oppressed numerous Palestinians who rarely dared to voice dissatisfaction or anger against his decisions out of fear of retaliation, which led to the death of thousands on both sides. His elimination is also a good day for the hopes of ending the Gaza war. Now the world can cautiously hope for better cease-fire negotiations, depending on his successor, as Sinwar was infamous for his rigid negotiation stances and insistence on intricate conditions regarding many issues not only with Israel but also involving internal Palestinian affairs.

The killing of Sinwar will disorient Hamas and serve as one more seismic blow to the terrorist organization militarily and strategically. His death creates a vacuum in Hamas’ rank and file that won’t be easily filled. As a leader, Sinwar was one of the pioneers of the Islamist movement who decidedly steered its religious and sectarian orientation.

Though an ideologically driven Sunni group, Hamas was openly opposed by various Sunni powers in the region, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. Consequently, Sinwar proactively embraced the strongest Shiite power in the region, Iran. He also connected Hamas militarily with the vicious Shiite group Hezbollah. This tactic worsened relationships with other Sunnis in the region. Additionally, Sinwar’s willingness to cooperate with whoever could serve his goals has long caused internal divisions even among Palestinians, especially as his tactics and rhetoric distanced him and Hamas from the official Palestinian Authority and its goals in general.

Without a doubt, his death brings a significant hit to the terrorists of Hamas, as they are currently collapsing under tremendous military pressure and personnel losses. Israel eliminated his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh in July and his major ally Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s chief, a few weeks ago. Moreover, Israel said it killed Mohammed Deif, Hamas’ military chief, who allegedly planned the Oct. 7 attack with Sinwar. These are huge blows against Hamas.

Time will reveal whether Sinwar’s death will force Hamas to accept reasonable deals to release the hostages and help lessen the humanitarian disaster of Palestinians. We can certainly hope that a crippled Hamas would give sound consideration to the suffering and pain of thousands of humans on both sides. It’s no secret that numerous Palestinians in Gaza are fed up with Hamas and have begun to voice their anger against the group openly. While they are putting their lives on the line by criticizing Hamas, these Palestinians credit their miserable circumstances to decisions made by Sinwar and his militants in underestimating Israel’s mighty retaliation for the Oct. 7 attack.

Hamas is now at a crossroads and amid intense conflict. It’s an opportune time for the international community to ensure its total military destruction. The war with Hamas is near its end, yet it is not over yet. The Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas in Gaza all serve as a single Islamist Iran–backed body of terror, with a laser-pointed goal: the elimination of Israel. They call themselves the “Axis of Resistance,” although they clearly appear as the “Axis of Evil.”

In light of Sinwar’s death, we can hope for reasonable Palestinian leaders to rise and embrace realistic negotiations to cut good deals to stop the terror, end the war, and save lives. We can hope.