AS WESTERN LEADERS gather in Berlin, two topics dominate conversation: Ukraine, Gaza.
On Wednesday, Israel announced that it had killed Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ chief in Gaza, and the architect behind the 7 October attacks, which took place just over a year ago.
The hope from many has been that Sinwar’s death will lead to the unravelling of Hamas and an end to the war.
This hope is shared by US President Joe Biden, who said that Sinwar’s death was a “happy day for Israel, the United States and the world”, adding that there was now a chance for a “path to peace”.
However, this opinion is not shared by those on the ground.
In a statement confirming Sinwar’s death, Hamas spokesperson Khalil Al-Haya said of Sinwar: “He died defending Palestine until the last moments of his life”.
The group has said that there will be no ceasefire or release of hostages until Israel withdraw completely from Gaza.
“Hamas will continue until the establishment of the Palestinian state on all Palestinian soil, with Jerusalem as its capital,” he said.
While Hamas does state in its charter that it is trying to achieve the borders of a Palestinian state as set out in UN Security Council Resolution 242, it does not recognise the State of Israel.
Praise for Sinwar seemingly came from across the political spectrum in Palestine.
Dr Mustafa Barghouti, leader of the Palestinian National Initiative, a moderate opposition party in the West Bank, said that Sinwar’s death gave the world an “image of Netanyahu’s failure”.
Hezbollah, Hamas’ key allies, who are also fighting Israel in Lebanon, said that they have entered a “new phase” of fighting, and have deployed new weapons.
The group offered their “deepest condolensces” to Hamas, and vowed they would “continue to support our Palestinian people”.
Iran, who provide backing to both groups, also offered condolensces.
The willingness to continue the conflict seems to be shared in Israel.
Sinwar’s death has been celebrated by the Israeli government, and it seems, Israeli society more broadly.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his death meant that Israel had “settled its account with Hamas”, but that the war was far from over.
Others in his government have been much more direct.
Chief of Staff of the Israel Defence Forces, Herzi Halavi, in a video statement posted on X, said Israel “will not stop until we catch all the terrorists who were involved in 7/10 [the October 7th attacks], and return all the abductees home”.
הרמטכ״ל: ״לא נעצור עד שנתפוס את כל המחבלים שהיו מעורבים ב-7/10 ונשיב את כל החטופים הביתה״ pic.twitter.com/40aG1MnUqF
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 17, 2024
Other ministers in Netanyahu’s cabinet have been equally bellicose.
Israel Katz, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, congratulated the military on the killing.
Meanwhile, his colleague Benny Gantz, said that the Israeli military will continue to operate in Gaza “for years to come”.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a civil society group representing hostages and their families in Israel, said they welcomed Sinwar’s “elimination”, and hoped that it would lead to a ceasefire.
However, any of the government’s commitments to a ceasefire run contrary to other commitments – namely settlement.
A conference set to take place on 21 October, called ‘Preparing to Resettle Gaza’, will be attended by 10 Likud Members of the Knesset [Israeli parliament]. This accounts for a third of the party’s – of which Netanyahu is a member – parliamentary strength.
Speaking in Berlin alongside President Biden, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Olof Scholz both echoed his hopes that with Sinwar’s death, a ceasefire could be close at hand.
On the campaign trail back home, Biden’s vice-president Kamala Harris also praised Sinwar’s killing, and called for further talks towards a ceasefire. Her opponent, Donald Trump, has yet to issue a specific statement.
Others in the US are not so hopeful.
Andrew Miller, of the think-tank Centre for American Progress, said that he didn’t think Israel would try to pursue a ceasefire deal.
“I’m not especially optimistic that Prime Minister Netanyahu and his coalition will do this. Another Israeli government might, but they just haven’t, particularly in recent weeks, demonstrated a real interest in this track,” he said.
Outside of the west, both Russia and China said that the ongoing “humanitarian catastrophe” was of serious concern.
“For us, the main thing is the consequences for civilians that we are seeing,” said a Russian spokesperson.
A Chinese official reiterated their demands for an “immediate” ceasefire in Gaza.
With reporting from © AFP 2024.
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