While much of the Jewish world sat in synagogue or out in their Sukkot, a routine IDF patrol in the Rafah area stumbled upon a building and identified a few Hamas terrorists there. After a firefight, the soldiers killed three of the terrorists. Upon closer look, the soldiers realized that one of the terrorists – who was wearing a head covering, flak jacket, carrying a gun and hand grenades (with NIS 40,000 on his body) – was none other than Hamas head and October 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar. After a year of hunting for Sinwar, the IDF had forced him into constant relocation, fleeing from one hiding place to another, only to finally meet his demise in a firefight in the Southern Gaza city of Rafah. As Rabbi Rick Jacobs commented: “The singular focus of Sinwar’s life was the annihilation of Israel and the Jewish people. He is directly responsible for the death of thousands of Israelis and Palestinians. On this festival of Sukkot – when we are commanded to rejoice – we will not celebrate the death of this diabolical terrorist. We will, however, express our relief that millions of innocent people will sleep better tonight knowing he is no longer among the living.” Sinwar’s death comes in a long line of recent assassinations including Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Hamas arch-terrorist Muhammad Deif, Fuad Shuqr – Senior Hezbollah commander, Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmed Wahbi – Head of Hezbollah’s Redwan Force and training Unit, Ibrahim Qubaisi Commander of Hezbollah’s Missile and Rocket unit, Muhammad Hussein Srour -Commander of Hezbollah’s Drone unit and most notably Hassan Nasrallah, The Secretary-General of Hezbollah (along with Ali Karaki the commander of the Southern Front of Hezbollah, and Abbas Nilforoushan Commander of Quds Force in Lebanon). According to Israeli news Channel 12, Sinwar had previously been hiding with the six hostages who were executed by their Hamas captors on August 29 and whose bodies were recovered by the IDF on August 31 — Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Alex Lobanov, 32, Carmel Gat, 40, and Almog Sarusi, 27, and that Sinwar likely gave the order to kill the six as he fled. There are few people more deserving of death than Sinwar. Born in Gaza in the early 1960s to a displaced Palestinian family, Sinwar was recruited to Hamas and groomed as a leader by the organization’s founder and spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin (assassinated in 2004). He quickly became chief of an internal security unit known as Al Majd, whose job it was to punish those suspected of violating Islamic morality laws or cooperating with Israel. Sinwar was arrested in 1988 for murdering four Palestinians whom he accused of apostasy or collaborating with Israel, according to Israeli court records. He spent more than two decades in prison in Israel, where he learned Hebrew and developed an understanding of Israeli culture and society. While incarcerated, Mr. Sinwar took advantage of an online university program and devoured Israeli news. He translated into Arabic tens of thousands of pages of contraband Hebrew-language autobiographies written by the former heads of Israel’s domestic security agency, Shin Bet. According to many reports and interviews, Dr. Yuval Bitton, an Israeli dentist who treated Mr. Sinwar when he was in custody and developed a relationship with him, said that Sinwar had secretly shared the translated pages so inmates could study the agency’s counterterrorism tactics. Mr. Sinwar liked to call himself a “specialist in the Jewish people’s history,” according to Dr. Bitton (whose nephew was murdered on October 7). After more than two decades in an Israeli jail, Sinwar was released in 2011 as part of a controversial deal in which one Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit was released after 5 years of Hamas captivity in exchange for 1027 Palestinian prisoners. Sinwar rose to the highest levels of leadership in Hamas, eventually becoming its head in August after the assassination of Qatari-based leader Ismail Haniyeh. According to documents recently disclosed by the New York Times and Washington Post, Sinwar had originally planned for the massive attack to take place in 2022 but waited in an attempt to (unsuccessfully) coordinate with Iran and Hezbollah to level an even greater and more devastating blow with the goal of destroying the Jewish State. Some have and will use this opportunity to stick it to those who cautioned against a mass-scale ground operation in Rafah, with a nose-thumbing gloat of ‘I told you so’. What Now? There are many questions and uncertainties that come out of the death of Sinwar with which Israel and the world are now grappling.
  1. Let us hope that the elimination of Hamas’s most dominant figure, known for his brutality and sadism, could open a small window of opportunity to achieve Israel’s elusive war aims, which have yet to be secured. Most importantly, many are hopeful that his death provides Israel an opportunity for further negotiations with Egypt and Qatar to bring the hostages home after a year of languishing in Hamas’ brutal captivity and to bring an end to this long and deadly war that has caused terrible suffering to the people of Israel and the innocents in Gaza. We pray that all those who have been caused pain by the actions of Sinwar find comfort and healing and that the souls of those whose lives he took find peace.
  2. Of course, the looming question is “Who will replace Sinwar?” This is key in determining whether or not it will be possible to end the fighting and secure a release for the remaining hostages. This includes the great uncertainty as to the hostages’ location. The previous understanding was that Yahya Sinwar had surrounded himself with hostages as human shields, however, his movement without them leaves us with many more questions as to the ability to locate them or broker a deal for their release.
  3. Where is the Palestinian Authority? PM Netanyahu has been stubbornly and emphatically against any discussion of propping up the PA to rule in Gaza. There’s no question that the PA is not an ideal political solution for Gaza, as they are corrupt, weak, and lack a viable succession plan for the 88-year-old PA head Mahmoud Abbas. However, the insertion of an interim Palestinian leadership in Gaza could lead to an international joint effort (e.g. the post-WWII Marshall Plan) which would begin the long and arduous task of rebuilding Gaza and providing a better sans-Hamas future for Palestinians, which would then result in a better future for Israelis, especially those in the Gaza envelope and border communities.
  4. Can Netanyahu now declare victory? After taking out Sinwar, and after the aforementioned list of assassinations, PM Netanyahu could potentially use this opportunity to declare victory. Seeing as his coalition is now fairly stabilized with Gideon Saar having recently brought his United Right party into the coalition, he could potentially engage in a more flexible policy line to bring home the hostages and be the true hero to the Israeli people – beyond the heroic efforts to kill the figureheads who call for Israel’s destruction. Or will Netanyahu use this moment to try and launch an offensive on Iran and its nuclear facilities?
While this is a big question, we must use this opportunity to call on PM Netanyahu, and the international community of invested countries and leaders including the U.S., the Gulf States, the Saudis, Egypt, etc – who seek to avoid all-out regional war with Iran and its proxies to move swiftly toward negotiations for the hostages.  We mourn the loss of 5 Israeli soldiers killed in Lebanon, which serves as a painful reminder that Sinwar’s death and Gaza are only one piece of this tragic and complex puzzle as Israel continues to fight on all fronts incurring heavy and heartbreaking loss. There is no question that Israelis, Palestinians, and the entire world are better off now that Yahya Sinwar is no longer on this earth. He was the embodiment of evil and is responsible for more death and destruction than anyone else. Let us be clear that while we can breathe a sigh of relief now that he is gone, there is still great uncertainty and many questions that come now. Let us embrace a small glimmer of hope that we can use this opportunity to bring an end to the war and return the hostages and we erase the name and memory of Yahya Sinwar.