The assassination of hardline Hamas Chief Yahya Sinwar by the Israelis in the Gaza Strip on 17 October 2024 has left the terrorist outfit scrambling for a new leader.
Sinwar, seen as the main initiator of the October 7 strike on Israel last year, was on top of the Israeli hit list anyway. He apparently died in firefight with an IDF patrol which did not even realise they had killed him till the following morning, when his body was identified by a drone which was surveying the shell-shattered building where he had been sheltering.
How will Sinwar’s death affect the war-torn region?
“With death of Sinwar, all the personalities within Hamas, the big names we’ve known for decades, have been eliminated, says Kabir Taneja, Deputy Director, Strategic Studies and Fellow, Middle East, at the Observer Research Foundation, and an expert on terrorist and extremist outfits operating in the region.
The remaining leaders lack the magnetism and aura which leaders like Ismail Haniyeh, (whose death led to Sinwar taking over the reins barely three months ago) Marwan Issa, deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing, who were all almost household names in the region, says Taneja.
“Whoever comes in will have the humongous task of having to reestablish Hamas as a group,” he says. And whether they will be allowed to do so by Israel and its supporters like the U.S. is another question, he adds.
To understand what happens to the Hamas, the general environment in the region, and whether Sinwar’s death means the chances of a peace process have gone up, watch the full interview.
