Israel launched raids on Gaza on Friday (October 18), intensifying its year-long campaign to defeat Hamas after killing its leader, Yahya Sinwar.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Sinwar’s death, saying the war launched by Hamas’ Oct 7, 2023 attack was not ended, but it was “the beginning of the end”.
He described the murder of Sinwar, the mastermind behind the bloodiest attack in Israeli history, as an “important landmark in the decline of Hamas’ evil rule.”
Sinwar, the Hamas chief in Gaza at the time of the attack, had taken over as the terrorist group’s overall leader following the assassination of its political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in July.
“This is a good day for Israel, the United States, and the world,” said US President Joe Biden, whose nation is Israel’s largest arms supplier.
“There is now the opportunity for a ‘day after’ in Gaza without Hamas in power, and for a political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
AIR STRIKES
According to an AFP calculation of official Israeli numbers, Hamas’ strike on October 7, 2023, killed 1,206 individuals, the majority of whom were civilians.
Militants also held 251 individuals hostage during the attack. Ninety-seven people remain in Gaza, including 34 who Israeli officials claim are dead.
According to an AFP journalist on the ground, Israel’s air assaults on Gaza continued after Sinwar’s death, with multiple airstrikes overnight and early Friday pummeling the strip of land.
Israel’s drive to smash Hamas and return captives kidnapped by terrorists has killed 42,438 people in Gaza, the bulk of them civilians, according to data from the Hamas-run health ministry, figures that the UN considers accurate.
Herzi Halevi, Israel’s military chief, promised to battle “until we capture all the terrorists involved in the October 7 massacre and bring all the hostages home”.
OPPORTUNITY
Some Israelis celebrated Sinwar’s death as an indication of brighter times ahead.
“I am celebrating the death of Sinwar, who has brought us nothing but harm, who has taken people hostage,” said one Israeli woman, Hemda, who only offered her first name.
Joining a Tel Aviv rally seeking the captives’ release, 60-year-old Sisil, who also revealed only her first name, said his death afforded a “once in a lifetime opportunity” for “a hostage deal to end the war”.
According to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, Biden called to commend him on Sinwar’s death, and the two leaders promised to seize “an opportunity to promote the release of the hostages”.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged the Israeli government and international mediators to capitalize on “this major achievement to secure hostages’ return”.
Andrew Miller, a former top State Department official handling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said Israel was unlikely to commit to a negotiated solution to end the war and liberate the captives just yet.
“I’m not especially optimistic that Prime Minister Netanyahu and his coalition will do this. Another Israeli government might, but they just haven’t… demonstrated a real interest in this track,” said Miller, who now works at the left-leaning Center for American Progress.
However, he claimed that Sinwar’s death may alter “the public conversation” and deprive Netanyahu of a stated reason for failing to achieve an agreement with Hamas.
MAJOR ACHIEVEMENT
With Hamas already weakened more than a year into the Gaza conflict, Sinwar’s death is an important setback to the organization, but whether or not it will result in a shift in policy is unidentified.
It is also unsure if his replacement will be chosen in Qatar, where Hamas’ political leadership has long been located, or in Gaza, the site of the battle.
Sinwar was killed in a gunfight in Rafah, southern Gaza, near the Egyptian border, according to the Israeli military. He was being tracked by a drone.
It published drone footage of what it claimed was Sinwar’s final moments, showing an injured terrorist hurling an item at the drone.
Israel is also at war in Lebanon, where Hamas ally Hezbollah established a front by initiating cross-border assaults that prompted tens of thousands of Israelis to evacuate their homes.
Hezbollah announced late on Thursday that it was entering a new phase of its conflict with Israel, and that it had deployed precision-guided missiles against troops for the first time.
On the same day, Israel launched strikes on Tyre, a city in southern Lebanon controlled by the extremist group and its allies.
The Israeli military reported that five troops were killed in fighting in southern Lebanon, bringing the total number of personnel losses to 19 since Israel began incursions into Lebanon last month.
Since late September, the fighting in Lebanon has killed at least 1,418 people, according to an AFP compilation of Lebanese health ministry numbers, though the true toll is likely much higher.
The conflict has also pulled in other Iran-aligned armed groups, including those in Yemen, Iraq, and Syria.
Iran launched a missile strike on Israel on October 1, and Israel has pledged retaliation.
Tehran’s UN delegation said Thursday that Sinwar’s assassination would bolster the region’s “resistance”.