Opinion | Israel Has Little Reason To End Its War - Even With Yahya Sinwar Dead
NDTV
The death of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar on Thursday, October 17, by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), is a watershed moment in the Israel-Hamas war that has raged on since October 7 last year.
A senior member of Hamas, Sinwar had taken over its leadership following the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh earlier this year in Tehran. Committed to Israel's destruction, he was the mastermind of the brutal Hamas attacks in October last year, which claimed the lives of over 1,200 Israelis, with more than 200 people taken hostage by the Hamas. Since then, Israeli reprisals have killed almost 42,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Meanwhile, Iran's proxy and ally on Israel's northern borders, the Hezbollah, began launching rocket attacks on Israel. In retaliation, since October 1 this year, Israel has been involved in full-scale military operations in Southern Lebanon and Beirut in a bid to create a buffer zone free of the Hezbollah's presence between Israel and Lebanon.
Following Sinwar's death, US President Joe Biden and European leaders have renewed calls for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Biden said Sinwar's death was "an opportunity to seek a path to peace" in Gaza.
