In the Israeli footage of the last minutes of the Hamas leader’s life, some see a symbol of defiance

The last world view of the Hamas leader was stark and raw, showing him wounded and cornered as he sat in a bombed-out Palestinian home and faced the Israeli drone filming him, throwing a stick at him.

For Israel, the scene was one of victory, showing Yahya Sinwar, the architect of October 7, broken and defeated.

But many in the Arab and Muslim world, whether Hamas supporters or not, saw something different in the grainy images: a defiant martyr. who died fighting to the end.

Clips of the drone footage released went viral on social media, accompanied by quotes from Sinwar’s speeches in which he stated that he preferred to die on the battlefield. An oil painting of a masked Sinwar sitting proudly in an armchair was widely shared, apparently inspired by the last image of him alive.

“By broadcasting the last minutes of Yahya Sinwar’s life, the occupation made his life longer than that of his killers,” Osama Gaweesh, an Egyptian media personality and journalist, wrote on social media.

In Gaza, reactions to Sinwar’s death were mixed. Some mourned his killing, while others expressed relief and hope that he could end the devastating war sparked by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that he is said to have led. Across the Arab and Muslim world, and away from the devastation in Gaza, opinions varied.

One thing, however, was clear. The footage was hailed by supporters and even some critics as evidence that a man killed in the clash was at least not hiding in a tunnel surrounded by hostages as Israel has said he was for much of the last year

Three days after he was killed, the Israeli army dropped leaflets in southern Gaza showing another image of Sinwar lying dead in a chair, his finger cut off and blood running down his forehead. “Sinwar destroyed your lives. He hid in a dark hole and was liquidated while running away in fear,” the leaflet said.

“I don’t think there is any senior Palestinian leader who has died in a clash (like Sinwar), according to the leaked Israeli version,” said Sadeq Abu Amer, head of the Istanbul-based Palestinian Dialogue Group . think tank based.

Sinwar’s disappearance was different

Unlike the political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, who was murdered in his hotel room in Iran, or the leader of the Hezbollah group in Lebanon Hassan Nasrallah, bombed in an underground bunker by dozens of massive munitions, Sinwar was killed while apparently fighting Israeli forces, more than a year after the war began.

Iran, the Shiite power and main backer of Hamas, went further. He contrasted Sinwar’s death with that of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Tehran’s archenemy.

A statement from Iran’s UN Mission said Saddam appeared to have crawled out of an underground hole, dragged by US forces as he “begged them not to kill him even though he was armed”. Sinwar, instead, was killed in the open while “engaging the enemy,” Iran said.

In a strong statement, Cairo-based Al-Azhar, the world’s highest seat of Sunni Muslim learning, criticized Israel’s depiction of Sinwar as a terrorist. Without naming Sinwar, the statement said the “martyrs of the resistance” died defending their land and their cause.

In Israel, Arabic-speaking army spokesman Avichay Adraee described Sinwar as “defeated, marginalized and persecuted.” Many celebrated the news of the assassination of the architect of the October 7 attack.

Video posted online showed a lifeguard on a Tel Aviv beach announcing the news amid applause, while Israeli media showed soldiers handing out sweets. Residents of Sderot, a town attacked by Hamas militants, were filmed dancing in the streets, some draped in Israeli flags. On Telegram, some shared images of a dead Sinwar, comparing him to a rat.

But there were also protests from families of hostages and their supporters who want Israeli leaders to seize the moment to bring the hostages home.

Some are energized, not demoralized

Susan Abulhawa, one of the most widely read Palestinian authors, said the images released by Israel were a source of pride. Israel “thought that posting footage of Sinwar’s final moments would demoralize us, make us feel defeated,” he wrote to X. “In reality, the footage immortalizes Sinwar and encourages us all to have courage and determination until the last moment “.

In the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, some remembered him with respect, while others expressed anger.

“He died as a fighter, as a martyr,” said Somaia Mohtasib, a displaced Palestinian from Gaza City.

For Saleh Shonnar, a resident of northern Gaza now displaced in the center, tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed. “Hundreds, dozens of senior leaders were martyred and replaced by new leaders.”

In Khan Younis, Sinwar’s birthplace, mourners at a bombed mosque recited the funeral prayer for a Muslim as the body disappeared. Israel has preserved Sinwar’s body. Dozens of men and children participated in the prayers.

And in Wadi al-Zayne, a town in Lebanon’s Chouf region with a significant Palestinian population, Bilal Farhat said Sinwar’s death made him a symbol of heroic resistance.

“He died fighting on the front lines. It gives him a kind of mystical hero aura,” Farhat said.

Some Palestinians took X to criticize Sinwar and dismiss his death in comparison to their own suffering. A speaker in a taped discussion said there is no way to say how he died. Another blamed him for 18 years of suffering, calling him a “madman” who started a war he couldn’t win. “If he is beloved, we were killed many dearer,” cried one.

In the long run, think tank Abu Amer said the effect of support and empathy for Sinwar after his death is unlikely to change the Arab public’s view of October 7 and what followed.

“Those who supported October 7th will continue to do so, and those who opposed October 7th — and there are many — will maintain their opinions, even if they show sympathy or admiration for him. Most Palestinians are focused on ending the war,” he said.

___

Fatma Khaled reported from Cairo. Julia Frankel and Ibrahim Hazboun in Jerusalem, Edith M. Lederer in the United Nations, Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut, and Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, contributed to this report.