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Giovanni Giacalone
Eyes everywhere

‘Resistance leader’ Yahya Sinwar died as a vile and fearful fugitive

Yahya Sinwar shortly before being killed (IDF YouTube; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law).

Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ terrorist mastermind and leader, is finally dead! He was not killed in an intelligence-ran operation with the involvement of special forces, but rather in a casual encounter with an IDF infantry unit, an officers training course unit that was operating in Rafah, not far from the border with Egypt. A mortar shell inside an abandoned building where unusual movement was detected, a mortar shell, a surveillance drone, another mortar shell, and Yahya is gone.

Sinwar did not die as a stoic “resistance leader,” as a “brave warrior,” as his supporters worldwide liked to paint him, but rather as a vile and fearful fugitive whose only expertise was murdering in cold blood and using civilians as human shields (Israeli hostages and Palestinian people).

No one should therefore be surprised if he was caught trying to escape, leaving behind a devastated Gaza. The IDF found on him money and a passport of a United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration teacher.

It is plausible that Sinwar could not endure the IDF military pressure for much longer. The tunnels were not an option anymore, especially for someone with problematic health conditions. The terrorist was hoping to flee, to escape abroad, without success though. The Israeli military pressure in Gaza, and especially in Rafah, proved to be efficient.

The Israeli government did not succumb to the absurd and inappropriate international pressures that tried to prevent the IDF from entering Rafah. “All eyes on Rafah”? There you go. Job done.

Of course, not everyone will be happy to hear about Sinwar’s death, and not just among those who openly support him. There are plenty of “skeletons” that need to be taken out of Gaza’s closets, and the reference is not to terror masterminds. As Hamas further collapses, the terror organization’s connections abroad will become far more evident.

Indeed, Sinwar’s elimination is a major victory for the free world; it’s a victory for all those who truly believe and engage in counter-terrorism, regardless of terror’s color. May it be Islamist, far-left, or far-right, because the consequences are always the same. Terrorism is an objective phenomenon, if we wish to see it as such and not as a useful tool for national and political interests.

Citing once again Dr. Boaz Ganor’s definition of terrorism: “Violence deliberately perpetrated against civilian targets to achieve political objectives”. That is exactly what Sinwar did, just like his colleagues Ismail Haniyeh, and Hassan Nasrallah. They all shared the same faith. The message is clear.

About the Author
Giovanni Giacalone is a senior analyst in Islamist extremism and terrorism at the Italian Team for Security, Terroristic Issues and Managing Emergencies-Catholic University of Milan, at the Europe desk for the UK-based think tank Islamic Theology of Counter-Terrorism, and a researcher for Centro Studi Machiavelli. Since 2021 he is the coordinator for the "Latin America group" at the International Institute for the Study of Security-ITSS. In 2023 Giacalone published the book “The Tablighi Jamaat in Europe”.
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