Gazans divided after Hamas chief Sinwar’s death, hoping for leader who’ll end suffering

A young Palestinian girl holds up a portrait of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during a rally in Ramallah on 18 October 2

Sheren Falah Saab reports in Haaretz on 20 October 2024:

Joy, pride, confusion, uncertainty and fear for the future. This is the range of feelings among residents of the Gaza Strip after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. The mixed emotions reflect the disagreement over the path taken by Sinwar. While some respect him and even declared him a hero, others scorn him and were relieved by his death.

“In the first hours after it was announced in the WhatsApp group that Sinwar died, I prayed that it would be true,” Salma (a pseudonym, like the other names in the article) told Haaretz. “We’re tired of him and everything he did and is doing. He brought ruin and destruction upon Gaza,” she added.

Salma, a 51-year-old resident of Gaza City, was displaced three times during the war before she and her family were able to move to Egypt in March. “Hamas was only good to people who supported them in the Strip. Those who did not support them or express solidarity with the resistance didn’t get a penny from them, nor employment from them,” she explained.  “They controlled everything, Sinwar especially. There are people in Gaza who are glad that he died and hope that the war will end and that this will be the end of Hamas in Gaza, but they don’t express this openly for fear of retaliation.”

Salma contacted Haaretz to verify the rumor about Sinwar’s death that circulated among Gaza residents. “Some residents of the Strip regret that he only died a year after the war broke out, and now all of Gaza is in ruins,” she added.  Ayman, 37, also opposes Hamas. He left the Strip three years ago and now lives in Europe. He said he felt satisfaction after Sinwar’s death. “My family and I will remember him as a man who decided, on his own accord, to sacrifice us and our lives to liberate Palestine.

He sold the common people this idea and made them believe it was possible. He spent the money on building tunnels. People have been living in poverty for years,” Ayman said.  “The resistance was the first priority, and that is a path of death. It was clear to me that Sinwar would die sooner or later, and it’s a shame that it only happened now.”  Ayman told Haaretz that he speaks daily with his parents and brother, who remained in Gaza. “They are suffering,” he said. “My brother lives in a tent and is worried about the approaching winter. ”

When they learned that Sinwar had been killed, he was very happy and said: ‘Maybe we’ll be able to return to our home in Gaza City and rebuild it.'” Ayman added: “Like my brother, people connect Sinwar’s death to the end of the war. For them, this is a new era and they will soon return to their lives and be rehabilitated.”

In contrast to the displays of joy and the distribution of Arab pastries among Lebanese and Syrians after the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Gazans have demonstrated restraint so far, wary of expressing joy in public.

“You have to remember that Hamas and Sinwar had legitimacy in the Strip and have many supporters,” said Iyad, a 26-year-old student of English language and literature from Gaza City. “Anyone who tried to express criticism or opposition was harassed or hurt. Even now, in the current war, Hamas operatives came to the homes of people who wrote posts against the war.

Iyad recalled the story of Amin Abed, an activist from the northern Gaza Strip who was beaten by a group of masked men who broke his teeth and arms, after he posted a lengthy criticism of Hamas on Facebook. The incident was widely covered in the Arab media; Abed said his attackers were Hamas operatives.

“Abed said that for 17 years Hamas also held the residents of Gaza hostage. I agree with his remarks,” said Iyad. “We don’t know who will come after Sinwar and what will happen to the Hamas movement in Gaza.

Is this really the end? Will people continue to support the approach of Hamas and the resistance, or will they support peace with Israel, like Yasser Arafat?” Iyad said. “It’s true that I’m young. But my father worked in Israel in the past and is familiar with Jews. He told me that since Hamas came to power things have changed, even before Sinwar. They made the people more extreme. I don’t see how we will continue from here in Gaza and what kind of leader will emerge in these conditions.”

“There is confusion and uncertainty,” agreed Fidaa, a 42-year-old mother of three who is living in a tent made of sheets of plastic in Deir al-Balah, in the central Strip. “It’s hard to say whether people are happy or saddened by Sinwar’s death.

At first, Hamas supporters denied the reports of his death and claimed it was fake news.” She believes Hamas will try to maintain its principles and modus operandi.  “The movement survived after leaders and officials were killed, such as Ahmed Yassin, Abdel Aziz Rantisi and Nizar Rayan. I’m almost certain there are people like me in Gaza, who have tired of the situation and of what Hamas sold them for years, and there’s a sense of relief that Sinwar is no more,” said Fidaa.

“People are already telling jokes about him, that he went up to heaven and they shut the gates on him and didn’t let him in. He wronged Gazans even before October 7. He executed people, he arrested activists and young people.”

In Hamas circles, meanwhile, the organization’s supporters portray Sinwar’s death as “an act of heroism and pride.” Hassan, 46, who was displaced together with his family from Khan Yunis to Rafah at the beginning of the war and later left for Egypt, explained that the recordings of Sinwar’s last moments contributed to this perception.

“The whole time Israel believed that Sinwar was hiding in the tunnels and was afraid of death, and Gazans believed that,” he said. “But in a video that was published, he is seen fighting against the IDF until the last moment. Masked and with a [protective] vest. He was killed above ground, and this makes him a hero in the eyes of supporters of the Palestinian resistance: He died a hero’s death,” said Hassan.

He added that the videos released by the Israel Defense Forces – which show Sinwar seated, trying to take down the army drone with a stick, his arm bleeding from a gunshot wound, inspired empathy and admiration among Palestinians.

Mohammed, a 31-year-old Gaza resident, agrees with Hassan and emphasizes that the photos of Sinwar’s last moments that were published in Israel stirred admiration among his supporters. “Sinwar died during an encounter with the soldiers.

He tried to fight. This refutes all the statements about him being a coward and in hiding. This is what resistance looks like. The way in which he died strengthened his credibility as a leader – everything he said in the past turned out to be correct,” Mohammed said.

He recalled Sinwar’s May 2021 speech, when he was asked if he was afraid that Israel would assassinate him. “The greatest gift the occupation can give me is to assassinate me,” Sinwar replied. “I’m 59 years old and I’d rather be martyred by F-16s and missiles than die from COVID, a stroke or a heart attack. I’d rather be killed and be martyred.”

Hassan says Palestinians, even Sinwar’s opponents, will remember the Hamas leader’s last moments. “His insistence on fighting with his last strength will be remembered. Whether there is agreement on his path or not, Sinwar reinforced the meaning of resistance,” Hassan said.

“The question that remains open is the fate of Gaza and the Gazans in the years to come: Will they continue on Sinwar’s path, or will the ruins produce a leader who will build Gaza from above, for the residents, and not below ground, for the resistance.”

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