The death of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, has ignited a firestorm of reactions across the Middle East. Captured in the final moments by an Israeli drone, his death has been met with both celebration and mourning, highlighting the starkly different interpretations of his legacy emerging from both sides of the conflict.
In Israel, the elimination of Sinwar is seen as a major victory. Soldiers distributed sweets, residents of Sderot, a town heavily targeted by Hamas, danced in the streets, and officials proclaimed his death a significant blow to the militant group. Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic-speaking spokesperson, declared Sinwar “defeated, outcast, and persecuted.” The military also dropped leaflets in southern Gaza, depicting Sinwar’s dead body, and urging Palestinians: “Sinwar destroyed your lives. He hid in a dark hole and was liquidated while escaping fearfully.”
However, in Gaza and across the broader Arab world, the response is vastly different. Many see Sinwar as a symbol of resistance against Israel, his death a tragic loss for the Palestinian cause. The grainy footage of his last moments, showing him wounded and cornered in a bombed-out Palestinian home, has gone viral on social media, becoming a rallying point for those who view him as a martyr.
The clip, showing Sinwar throwing a stick at the Israeli drone that filmed him, has been widely shared and interpreted as a testament to his defiance. His supporters see it as proof that he died fighting, refusing to surrender. Video edits overlayed with audio of Sinwar’s previous speeches, where he vowed to die on the battlefield, have further cemented his image as a symbol of resistance. An oil painting of a masked Sinwar sitting in an armchair, inspired by the last image of him alive, has been widely shared online, portraying him as a heroic figure.
Prominent Palestinian author Susan Abulhawa, commenting on the Israeli attempts to demoralize Palestinians through the release of the footage, stated on X (formerly Twitter): “In reality, the footage immortalizes Sinwar and galvanizes all of us to have courage and resolve until the last moment. The…further on the folly of the colonizer’s mentality. They thought that publishing footage of Sinwar’s last moments would demoralize us, make us feel defeat. In reality, the footage immortalizes Sinwar and galvanizes all of us to have courage and resolve until the last moment. The…”
In Gaza, the reactions were more mixed. While some mourned his death, others hoped it could bring an end to the war that began after Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. In Khan Younis, Sinwar’s birthplace, mourners gathered in a bombed-out mosque to recite funeral prayers for him, despite Israel retaining his body. For many, his death on the battlefield, rather than hidden in a tunnel as Israel had alleged, elevated him to the status of a martyr.
The starkly different interpretations of Sinwar’s death highlight the deeply entrenched divide between Israel and the Palestinians. The footage of his final moments has become a powerful symbol, igniting a debate about the nature of resistance, the cost of conflict, and the legacy of a leader whose death has left the Middle East with more questions than answers.