Israel’s confirmed this week that it had killed Mohammad Sinwar, the Gaza chief of Hamas, in an air strike on his bunker earlier this month.
Kabir Taneja, deputy director of the strategic studies programme at the Observer Research Foundation, told SNG on The Gist that “I think it’s very safe to say that they are in disarray at this point of time. Their tactical and strategic abilities to operate inside Gaza have been greatly diminished. They’ve lost a lot of people, so they’ve lost a lot of blood.”
Hamas is yet to announce a new leader. Maybe this time they won’t, given how the Israelis have systematically tracked and eliminated Mohammad Sinwar’s predecessors, elder brother Yahya Sinwar last October and before that Ismail Haniyeh.
Given the fact that so little is known about Mohammad Sinwar, could he have been a front for the real head of Hamas in Gaza?
“That is plausible, in such organizations there are military commanders on the front lines (who) are more powerful and well informed on how to how to take the group forward. But like in any political organization, the leadership battle all always has to come from a place and a name and a position where you can also have a narrative. It’s not just about the front lines. It’s about having some weight behind who the person is going to lead.”
But Taneja also points to Hamas’ diminishing control over Gaza. With the Israeli determination to control 70% of the territory, where can Hamas hide? Where can any Hamas leader hide or feel relatively safe?
Taneja makes another point. Israel may be on top right now but what happens tomorrow?
“How long will your (Israeli) soldiers actually be there? Are they going to be responsible for the governance, for delivering aid, for building up Gaza moving forward? How are you going to handle the populations, which will have a very anti-Israel outlook considering what they have done in Gaza.”
Tune in for more in this conversation with Kabir Taneja, deputy director strategic studies at the Observer Research Foundation.
