October 7, Attack Mastermind Yahya Sinwar Killed by Israeli Forces in Gaza
A turning point in the century-old conflict between Israelis and Hamas came on October 16, 2024, when Yahya Sinwar, mastermind behind the October 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel, was killed by Israeli troops in a gunfight in southern Gaza. Sinwar, a 61-year-old, was ordered to execute one of the bloodiest attacks in Israel's history: an assault that killed over 1,200 and captured 251 hostages. His death finally came after a year-long manhunt by Israeli forces.
The Manhunt and Death
Israeli infantry soldiers of the Bislach Brigade were conducting their operations in Tal El Sultan in southern Gaza when they encountered three suspected militants. In the gunfight, Sinwar ran into the rumpus of a ruined building. Shells from the tanks as well as missiles were hurled at the building as the mini drone captured images of a man badly hurt, slumping in a chair or sofa covered with dust. Sinwar was identified to be the man who hurled a stick at the drone prior to the final missile strike collapsing the rumpus where he died off.
The Israeli military first defined the wounded man to be a "combatant." But by dawn the next day, soldiers discovered that the body miraculously resembled Yahya Sinwar, whom they thought was their prime target. Because they suspected that the man might be booby-trapped with explosives, Israeli soldiers took part of his finger and sent it for examination. Dental records, fingerprints, and DNA later verified that it was indeed Sinwar.
On October 17, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Sinwar was dead saying: "Today, as we promised, we settled the score with him."
Yahya Sinwar: Childhood Playing the Part of Terrorist Leader
Yahya Sinwar was born in 1962, and grew up in the squalid refugee camp of Khan Younis in Gaza. His childhood amidst volatile Israeli-Palestinian enmity shaped his ideology. A product of hardship, Sinwar's life turned militant when he came close to Hamas, the Islamist militant group that has ruled Gaza since driving out the rival Fatah faction in a violent coup in 2007.
Sinwar graduated from the Islamic University of Gaza, with a BA in Arabic studies. He started his ascent through the Hamas ranks during the First Intifada of the 1980s, when he helped establish Hamas's internal security force and acquired a reputation for brutality, partly while organizing a purge of Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel, earning him the sobriquet "The Butcher of Khan Younis."
Time Behind Israeli Bars and Health Struggles
Sinwar spent 22 years behind Israeli bars since his arrest in the late 1980s. While behind bars, he suffered a brain tumor and had life-saving surgery by an Israeli doctor in 2008, an irony not lost on many observers. Incarcerated Sinwar's personal data, comprising dental imprints and DNA, were invaluable when Israel later identified his body.
Sinwar was released in 2011 during a prisoner swap for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, an exchange increasingly now being criticized as it gave him the chance to stay back at the helm of Hamas' armed wing.
Hamas Leadership and Mastermind of October 7, 2023 Attack
Sinwar had emerged as a successful Hamas leader in Gaza since 2017. He had enhanced the military power of Hamas, and under his leadership, the group launched a surprise attack on October 7, 2023, killing over 1,200 Israelis and taking 251 hostages. This was one of the most destructive terror attacks launched against Israel.
He died within over a year after the massacre, when Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz welcomed the operation with these words: "The mass murderer Yahya Sinwar, responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7, was eliminated."
Sinwar Personal Life: Wife, Children, and Wealth
Sinwar married, in 2011, 18 years younger Samar Muhammad Abu Zamar. They had three children. Sinwar personally amassed an amount of between $1 million and $3 million in addition to his work heading Hamas, the BBC reported—an organization heavily funded by donations and other ways. This success of personal gain amidst poverty in Gaza led many to question the corruption within Hamas' leadership.
International Reactions
The White House echoed Netanyahu, as US President Joe Biden—who was traveling on Air Force One—extended congratulations to Netanyahu: "on what was a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world."
Other leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, the Defence Secretary of the UK, and the Foreign Minister of Germany, welcomed the death of the Hamas leader.
Benny Gantz, former war cabinet minister in Israel, warned that "the end does not mark the end of the war" with Sinwar. The difference here was between the two: the IDF will continue its work in Gaza for the next years, first because of hostages coming home, then because the rule of Hamas should be ended.
What's Next?
Although the killing of Sinwar is a great defeat to Hamas, the conflict between Israel and Hamas is just at its beginning. The elimination of Sinwar is likely to bring a temporary gap in the Hamas leadership circle as its military actions are anticipated. Hamas has not offered any formal response following his death, but retaliatory attacks from Gaza are expected.
In a signal that has been sent across, Israel seems set to carry on the military activities in Gaza for as long as it takes, a bold statement that is undoubtedly made with sterner looks as Prime Minister Netanyahu vows to bring all culprits who perpetrated the attacks of October 7 to justice. In addition, the IDF has stated that until the military infrastructure of Hamas is dismantled, and that all hostages are returned, and that is the end. By Matt Drake
The death of Yahya Sinwar would be a symbolic victory for Israel, but it would be a bitter blow for Hamas. Yet, as long as conflict continues to simmer in the region, so too does the conflict itself. For now, the world watches the next stage unfold of the Israel-Hamas war.
