Some Palestinians hope for end of the war
Some Palestinians in Gaza have expressed hope that the killing of Yahya Sinwar won’t be in vain and that it will put an end to their suffering.
“I really hope that Sinwar’s death will be the end of the war and that he will be a sacrifice for the Palestinian people, like the rest of the martyrs who fell,” said Rasmiya Khalil, a displaced woman now staying in Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza.
“The world should at least sympathise with us as a people who want to live, including children and women. Help these people to live,” the 53-year-old added.
Her comments were in stark contrast with what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said soon after the Israeli army claimed the killing of Sinwar. He said that “the mission was not over” as dozens of captives are still believed to be inside Gaza – something that will likely drag the war further.
Some in Gaza skeptical about fallout from Sinwar’s killing
Some civilians in Gaza received the news of Sinwar’s claimed killing with sadness but also with pride, noting that his death would not translate into an end to the conflict.
“Sinwar is the only leader who said no to Israel, but his death does not mean stopping the war. Israel targets every child, woman and man in Gaza, and not just Sinwar,” said Hamza al-Kurd, 50, displaced from the north of Gaza to a makeshift camp in Deir el-Balah.
“Sinwar was a caring father to us. He was killed on the battlefield, engaged and fighting for his people and his land,” Salah Musleh, 30, said.
The Hamas leader’s killing “will not stop the war because it is a war on the Palestinian cause and Palestinian existence.”
Hamas could look to replace Sinwar with another military figure
Roxane Farmanfarmaian, a lecturer on international relations of the Middle East at the University of Cambridge, told Al Jazeera that some of the possible leaders who might take Yahya Sinwar’s place are more “hardline” than he was.
Others include more pragmatic figures such as Khaled Meshaal, the former head of Hamas’s political directorate, who is more of a “negotiation expert”, Farmanfarmaian said.
She said that since Hamas may have lost its military leader, her inclination is that it will probably choose another military leader rather than a political one at this stage, as the “fight is not over”.
Israeli army gives more information on claimed Sinwar killing
The Israeli army’s spokesperson Daniel Hagari has spoken to reporters about the killing of the Hamas leader.
Here are the key points of his news conference:
- The Israeli soldiers identified three fighters who were fleeing from house to house.
- After being shot at by the Israeli forces, the group split.
- Sinwar fled alone to a building where the Israeli army sent a drone.
- Sinwar, wounded in his hand from the shooting, is seen throwing what looks like a stick towards the drone.
- After being killed, he was found with a protective vest, a gun and 40,000 shekels.
- In the past months, the Israeli army had found his DNA in an underground tunnel a few hundred metres from the one where six captives had been killed in August.
A video posted on the Israeli army’s website purports to show a man, his face wrapped in a scarf, sitting alone on an armchair inside a heavily damaged apartment. He stares at the drone and throws the stick which falls on the ground. The video ends.
Drone with a 360p webcam?
Israel says a drone later discovered Sinwar’s body in the rubble of the building, which was struck by an Israeli tank on Wednesday. Only after sending in soldiers on foot did the Israeli military identify the man as Hamas’ leader.
