'Necessary sacrifice': Hamas Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar relying on Palestinian deaths to corner Israel

Yahya Sinwar, the chief of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, has dubbed the dead Palestinians as “necessary sacrifice”.

Sinwar believes the death and destruction in Gaza benefits Hamas and harms Israel, according to a report.

Sinwar is considered to be the mastermind of the all-out attack of Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023. He has been a member of Hamas since before the terrorist group’s finding in 1980s. He was imprisoned in Israel and was serving multiple life sentences for his acts. Then, after serving 22 years in prison, he was released along with a thousand other prisoners for the release of an Israeli national held hostage in Gaza.

The terrorist group Hamas has ruled Gaza since 2007. Sinwar took over the leadership of Hamas in Gaza in 2017. Since then, he has engaged in a policy of triggering activities that have led to casualties among the Palestinians. These casualties have in turned fuelled further conflict and systematically isolated Israel on the international stage. Following the October 7 stage, Sinwar has deployed the strategy at a grand scale, according to The Wall Street Journal.

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Based on a review of Sinwar’s messages with Hamas leadership based abroad, the newspaper has reported that he has blocked attempts at ceasefire in Gaza with the hope that the civilian deaths will benefit Hamas and harm Israel militarily and diplomatically.

The tactic appears to be working as Israel is more isolated than ever at the international stage. Several countries have said they would join the case of genocide against Israel at the International Case of Justice (ICJ) and arrest warrants against Israeli leaders have been sought at the International Criminal Court (ICC). More and more countries are supporting Palestinians and condemning Israel — accusations of war crimes and genocide are also widespread.

“We have the Israelis right where we want them,” said Sinwar in one of the messages.

Sinwar shows ‘cold disregard’ for civilian casualties, says report

The messages reviewed by the paper show that Sinwar has shown “a cold disregard for human life”. The paper added that the messages show that Sinwar has made it clear he believes Israel has more to lose from the continuation of the war and civilian deaths than Hamas.

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In April 11, after three sons of Qatar-based Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh were killed in an Israeli airstrike, Sinwar said that those and other deaths of Palestinians will “infuse life into the veins of this nation, prompting it to rise to its glory and honour”.

The ongoing war is not the first time that he has fuelled the conflict that led to the deaths among Palestinians. In 2018, Sinwar began the practice of holding weekly protests at Gaza’s border with Israel where the border is marked by a fence. During those protests, fearing a breach and an influx of protesters or terrorists, Israeli soldiers fired on those who came close to the fence. The deaths served the Sinwar’s goal.

“We make the headlines only with blood. No blood, no news,” said Sinwar in an interview in 2018.

Lately, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that the ceasefire in Gaza depends on Sinwar alone. Referring to him, he said it’s “down to one man”.

What’s Yahya Sinwar’s endgame in Gaza?

Following the 11-day conflict in 2021, Israeli officials believe Sinwar started planning a large-scale attack on Israel, according to the report.

That attack finally took place on October 7. The endgame of the attack was to jolt the world and revive the cause of Palestine. As the subsequent Israel-Hamas War has caused unprecedented deaths and destruction in Gaza, Sinwar appears to be succeeding in his goal of isolating Israel, stripping the nation of its allies, and generating worldwide support for the Palestinian statehood.

One aim of Sinwar of carrying out the October 7 attack was to end the “paralysis in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and revive its global diplomatic importance”, the WSJ reported Arab and Hamas officials familiar with Sinwar’s as saying.

The paper reported that the ultimate goal of Sinwar’s war appears to get a permanent ceasefire that allows Hamas to declare a war in Gaza by outlasting Israel and claim the leadership of the Palestinian case.

That appears to be happening as Israel appears to be falling deeper into the trap by the day.

Even without a lasting ceasefire, the paper reported that Sinwar believes Israeli PM Netanyahu has few options other than occupying Gaza. Once Israel occupies Gaza, it would get isolated further and would lose support from allies like the United States. It would also get bogged down in a bloody insurgency of Hamas and other terrorist groups. The insurgency’s toll would further drive the conflict and isolation of Israel — increasingly turning Israel into a pariah state.