As the Gaza war grinds on, focus on Yahya Sinwar, the new chief of Hamas. He’s essentially a military leader, one unschooled in the art of compromise that politics demands. He’s also been largely limited to Gaza.
“Doesn’t have any interpersonal skills to form regional solidarities or alliances,” says Khinvraj Jangid, head of Israel studies at Jindal Global University.
Jangid was a guest on The Gist where he analysed the war from the standpoint of two key personalities: Yahya Sinwar and Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Whatever the brutalities unleashed by the Oct 7 Hamas attack on Israel last year, Jangid believes that he has done something that no one ever thought possible. In that sense, as far as Hamas is concerned, he’s a “stellar actor”.
Has the war degraded Hamas potential as a fighting force?
“Yes, a lot of their men have been killed. But here’s the thing … they will get another 2000 or 3000 men in in two years easily. It’s an Israeli narrative that we degraded Hamas. You just killed men who will be easily replaced by others.”
As for efforts to negotiate a ceasefire, it’s interesting to note that while the region and Joe Biden want one, Yahya Sinwar does not since that would imply it would be sidelined by an Arab or international force taking over Gaza. Then again, Hamas continues to hold over 100 Israelis hostage.
The other person to look at is Netanyahu. The longer the war goes on, the dimmer public memories will get over his culpability in the Hamas attack. Rather he will be seen as a hero in resisting US pressure to do a ceasefire with Hamas.
The right-wing coalition Netanyahu heads wants the war to go on, so does a section of the public. The defence minister has publicly questioned Netanyahu’s aims, saying the war cannot be won. Yet Netanyahu stays put and is comfortable since elections are due only in 2026.
Tune in for more in this conversation with Khinvraj Jangid on the Gaza war.
