IF Israel thinks its strategy of ‘decapitation’ — eliminating the leaders of outfits that confront it — will neutralise resistance groups, then it has not learned anything from history. While the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar by Israel in Gaza, first reported on Thursday and confirmed by the armed Palestinian group a day later, is a major setback for Hamas, it is unlikely to bring Israel any long-term benefits. If anything, resistance to its brutal methods in the occupied territories, and beyond, will only gain strength. Already Sinwar, who went down fighting, is being hailed as a hero by many in Gaza. Even the PLO, which has often clashed with Hamas, condoled his killing, terming it “martyrdom”. Earlier this year, Israel assassinated Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and Sinwar’s predecessor Ismail Haniyeh. Yet despite the loss of their top leadership, both Hezbollah and Hamas remain active and continue to resist Israel in the battlefield. In fact, Israel has a long history of assassinating Palestinian leaders. Nearly all of Hamas’s top echelon — starting from founder Sheikh Ahmad Yassin and his successor Abd al-Aziz al-Rantisi — have been murdered by Israel, yet the group has today become the most powerful amongst the Palestinian factions, eclipsing even Fatah in the occupied territories as well as the diaspora in popularity.

While many in Western capitals have celebrated Sinwar’s murder and renewed calls for a ceasefire, Tel Aviv seems uninterested in silencing its guns. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly said the war is “not over” and that his military would operate in Gaza for “years to come”, pointing to a reoccupation of the Strip. Not satisfied with putting over 42,000 people to the sword in Gaza — most of them women and children — and stepping up its campaign of terror in the West Bank, Israel has expanded its aggression to Lebanon, while also attacking Syria and Yemen. Moreover, the world is watching to see if and when it targets Iran. Israel will never see peace if it continues its murderous campaigns in the occupied territories, or threatens sovereign states. If anything, such rampages will strengthen the resolve of groups and states in the region to resist Tel Aviv’s aggression and barbarism. Only an end to the genocidal onslaught in Gaza, and the establishment of a viable Palestinian state, can bring peace to the region.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2024