The War Trudges On
Members of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, are seen in Gaza on Jan. 31, 2016.Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
Hamas confirmed the killing of leader Yahya Sinwar by Israeli forces in a televised eulogy on Friday and vowed to continue its war against Israel. Sinwar’s death “will only increase the strength and resolve of Hamas and our resistance,” said Sinwar’s longtime deputy, Khalil al-Hayya, who has been living in exile in Qatar. Hayya reiterated that Hamas will not end its war against Israel until both sides agree to a truce deal in Gaza that includes a complete Israeli withdrawal from the enclave and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Israel is mistaken if it “believes that killing our leaders means the end of our movement and the struggle of the Palestinian people,” Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim said on Friday.
Sinwar was killed during a shootout with Israeli forces in southern Gaza on Wednesday, though Israeli troops did not realize that they had killed Hamas’s No. 1 leader until after his death. Sinwar was one of the main orchestrators of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which killed around 1,200 people and took roughly 250 others hostage.
Many hoped that Sinwar’s death would help pave the way for an end to the yearlong conflict. On Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden called Sinwar’s killing a “good day for the world” and said, “Now’s the time to move on. … Move toward a cease-fire in Gaza.” He also held a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during which the two leaders discussed “how to use this moment to bring the hostages home and to bring the war to a close with Israel’s security assured and Hamas never again able to control Gaza,” according to a White House readout of the call.
However, Netanyahu vowed late Thursday to continue the war effort. Sinwar’s killing is a “great opportunity to stop the axis of evil,” he said, referring to Iran and its proxies, which include Hamas in Gaza as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Israeli military announced on Friday that it would add an additional brigade of reservists to fight along the Israel-Lebanon border, and it said that its forces had killed Muhammad Hassin Ramal, Hezbollah’s commander of the Tayibe area in southern Lebanon.
In response, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sinwar fought and died “like a hero,” with Iran’s mission to the United Nations adding that Sinwar’s death would fuel a “spirit of resistance.” Hezbollah also announced on Friday that it would enter “a new and escalating phase” in its confrontation with Israel. The group said it shot down two Israeli Hermes 450 drones this week and would introduce new weaponry in the coming days, including precision-guided missiles and explosive drones.
“We had hoped, really throughout this, that getting rid of Sinwar would be the turning point where the wars would end,” a senior diplomat working in Lebanon told Reuters. “It appears we were once again mistaken.”
It is unclear who will succeed Sinwar. Experts believe that a political leader based outside of Gaza will likely fill the role, with Mohammed Sinwar, the late militant leader’s younger brother, likely taking on a bigger responsibility directing the war effort from within the territory. Either Hayya, Sinwar’s deputy and a key negotiator for Hamas, or longtime senior Hamas official Khaled Mashal could fill Sinwar’s spot. Both Hayya and Mashal were front-runners to replace Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh when he was assassinated in Tehran in July but were passed over for Sinwar.