The killing of Yahya Sinwar is Israel’s biggest victory yet in the war against Hamas in Gaza.
His death is a serious blow to Hamas, the organization he transformed into a fighting force that inflicted the greatest defeat on the State of Israel in its history.
He was not killed during a planned special forces operation, but during a chance encounter with Israeli forces in Rafah in southern Gaza.
A photo taken at the scene shows Sinwar, dressed in combat gear, lying dead in the rubble of a building that was hit by a tank shell.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, praised the soldiers and made it clear that however great the victory was, it did not mean the end of the war.
“Today we once again made it 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 beloved, is not over yet. It’s difficult and it costs us a lot of money.’
“There are still great challenges ahead of us. We need endurance, unity, courage and steadfastness. 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.
The Prime Minister has reiterated his war goals many times: to destroy Hamas as a military and political force and to bring the hostages home.
Neither has been achieved, despite a year of war that has killed at least 42,000 Palestinians and left much of Gaza in ruins.
But the remaining hostages are not free and Hamas fights and sometimes kills Israeli forces.
Killing Sinwar was the victory Israel wanted. But until Netanyahu can claim that the other war goals have been achieved, the war, as he says, will continue.
Yahya Sinwar was born in 1962 in a refugee camp in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip. He was five years old when it was captured by Israel from Egypt during the 1967 Middle East war.
His family was among more than 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were driven from their homes by Israeli forces during the 1948 war in which Israel gained independence.
His family came from the city now known as Ashkelon, close to the northern border of the Gaza Strip.
In his 20s, he was convicted by Israel of murdering four Palestinian informants. During 22 years in prison, he learned Hebrew, studied his enemy and believed he knew how to fight them. His time in prison also meant that Israel had his dental records and a sample of his DNA, meaning they could identify his body.
Sinwar was released as one of more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners exchanged in 2011 for a single Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit.
On October 7 last year, in a carefully planned series of attacks, Sinwar and his men inflicted Israel’s worst ever defeat – and a collective trauma that is still deeply felt.
The murder of approximately 1,200 Israelis, the hostage taking and the celebration of their enemies were reminiscent of the Nazi Holocaust for many Israelis.
Sinwar’s own experience with a prisoner exchange must have convinced him of the value and power of taking hostages.
In Tel Aviv, the families of the remaining 101 hostages in Gaza – Israel says half of them may already be dead – gathered in the square where they have been meeting for a year, urging the Israeli government to start new negotiations to get their people home. .
Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, appealed to the Prime Minister.
“Netanyahu, don’t bury the hostages. Now go to the mediators and to the public and present a new Israeli initiative.”
“Time is up for my Matan and the rest of the hostages in the tunnels. You have the victory photos. Make a deal now!’
“If Netanyahu does not seize this moment and does not rise now to pursue a new Israeli initiative – even at the cost of ending the war – it means that he has decided to abandon the hostages in an attempt to prolong the war. strengthen his rule.
“We won’t give up until everyone is back.”
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 invade Israel, and to perhaps allow the resumption of his trial for serious corruption postpone indefinitely. costs.
He denies these accusations and insists that only what he calls “total victory” in Gaza over Hamas can restore Israeli security.
Like other news organizations, Israel does not allow the BBC to enter Gaza except on rare, guided trips with the military.
In the ruins of Khan Yunis, Sinwar’s birthplace, Palestinians interviewed for the BBC by local trusted freelancers were defiant. They said the war would continue.
“This war does not depend on Sinwar, Haniyeh or Mishal, nor on any leader or official,” said Dr. Ramadan Faris.
“It is a war of extermination against the Palestinian people, as 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 towards Sinwar.
“They are not just after us. They want the entire Middle East. They are fighting in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen… This has been a war between us and the Jews since 1919, more than 100 years.”
He was asked whether Sinwar’s death would have consequences for Hamas.
“I hope not, God willing. Let me explain: Hamas is not just Sinwar… It is the business of a people.”
The war in Gaza continues. An attack on northern Gaza killed 25 Palestinians. Israel said it had hit a Hamas command center. Doctors at the local hospital said the dozens of injured people they treated were civilians.
Parachuting in aid resumed after the Americans said Israel should let in more food and aid.
Every Hamas leader since the 1990s has been assassinated by Israel, but there has always been a successor. While Israel celebrates Sinwar’s killing, Hamas still has hostages and is still fighting.
