By Nidal al-Mughrabi
CAIRO (Reuters) -For one Gazan father, Yahya Sinwar’s death in battle trying to beat back a drone with a stick was “how heroes die.” For others, it was an example for future generations even as some lamented the ruinous cost of the war he sparked with Israel.
Sinwar, the architect of Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza, was killed on Wednesday in a gunfight with Israeli forces after a year-long manhunt, and his death was announced on Thursday.
A video of some of his final minutes, showing him masked and wounded in a shell-smashed apartment trying to hurl a stick at a drone filming him inspired pride among Palestinians.
“He died a hero, attacking not fleeing, clutching his rifle, and engaging against the occupation army at the front line,” a Hamas statement mourning Sinwar’s death said.
In the statement, Hamas vowed his death would only strengthen the movement, adding that it wouldn’t compromise on conditions to reach a ceasefire deal with Israel.
“He died wearing a military vest, fighting with a rifle and grenades, and when he was wounded and was bleeding he fought with a stick. This is how heroes die,” said Adel Rajab, 60, a father of two in Gaza.
“I have watched the video 30 times since last night, there is no better way to die,” said Ali, a 30-year-old taxi driver in Gaza.
“I will make this video a daily duty to watch for my sons, and my grandsons in the future,” said the father of two.
The attack Sinwar planned on Israeli communities a year ago killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, with another 253 dragged back to Gaza as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s subsequent war has devastated Gaza, killing more than 42,000 Palestinians, with another 10,000 uncounted dead thought to lie under the rubble, say Gaza health authorities.
Sinwar’s own words in previous speeches, saying he would rather die at Israel’s hands than from a heart attack or car accident, have been repeatedly shared by Palestinians online.
“The best gift the enemy and the occupation can offer me is to assassinate me and that I go as a martyr at their hands,” he had said.
RECRUITING TOOL
Now some Palestinians are wondering whether Israel will regret allowing the fulfilment of that wish to be broadcast as a potential recruiting tool for an organisation it has sworn to destroy.
“They said he was hiding inside the tunnels. They said he was keeping Israeli prisoners next to him to save his life. Yesterday we saw that he was hunting down Israeli soldiers in Rafah, where the occupation has been operating since May,” said Rasha, a displaced 42-year-old mother of four children.
“This is how leaders go, with a rifle in the hand. I supported Sinwar as a leader and today I am proud of him as a martyr,” she added.
A poll in September showed a majority of Gazans thought the Oct. 7 attack was the wrong decision and a growing number of Palestinians have questioned Sinwar’s willingness to launch a war that has caused them so much suffering.
Rajab, who praised Sinwar’s death as heroic, said he had not supported the Oct. 7 attacks, believing Palestinians were not prepared for all-out war with Israel. But he said the manner of his death “made me proud as a Palestinian”.
In both Gaza and the West Bank, where Hamas also has significant support and where fighting between Israeli occupying forces and Palestinians has increased over the past year, people wondered whether Sinwar’s death would hasten the war’s end.
In Hebron, a flashpoint West Bank city, Ala’a Hashalmoon said killing Sinwar would not mean a more conciliatory leader. “What I can figure out is that whoever dies, there is someone who replaces him (who) is more stubborn,” he said.
And in Ramallah, Murad Omar, 54, said little would change on the ground. “The war will continue and it seems it won’t end soon,” he said.
(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah, writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Deepa Babington)
