‘Mastermind of October 7’: How death of Yahya Sinwar could end Israel-Hamas War

A narrow path to peace has emerged with the killing of Hamas’ leader. Here’s how the ‘Butcher of Khan Younis’ orchestrated the war, and how his death could end it.

The death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, has removed what the US has labelled the “big obstacle” to a ceasefire in Gaza.

Israel’s Most Wanted: Sinwar was the architect of Hamas’ October 7 invasion of Israel that left 1,200 dead and 250 taken hostage. It ignited a war in Gaza that has spread to Lebanon in a fight against Hezbollah. An estimated 42,000 have been killed and 1.9 million displaced as a result.

■ Named “The Butcher of Khan Younis” after admitting to killing 12 Israeli collaborators in the 1980s, Sinwar was Hamas’ political leader in Gaza before he was appointed the terror group’s head following the death of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.

■ Sinwar, 61, orchestrated the October 7 attack alongside the group’s military leader Mohammed Deif, who Israel believes has also been killed.

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar holds the child of an Al-Qassam Brigades fighter. Picture: AFP

How they got him: Initial reports suggested Sinwar was taken out by a stroke of luck when Israeli troops called in a strike on three unidentified militants seen entering a building. When the rubble was cleared a day later, they found the Hamas leader among the dead. While calling it a “routine military operation”, subsequent details revealed Israeli and US intelligence had been closing in.

■ Israel’s intelligence services knew Sinwar was hiding out in tunnels beneath the Tel Sultan neighbourhood of Rafa for months but did not know his precise location, according to Hebrew media reports.

■ US special forces helped the IDF track Sinwar, along with other Hamas leaders, to “flush them out of their hiding places”, according to the White House.

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, top right, was found in the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli military strike. Picture: Supplied

Why it matters: White House national security communications adviser John Kirby has said that it had become increasingly clear Sinwar remained “the big obstacle” to the release of hostages required for a ceasefire deal.

■ “He is the obstacle, no questions about it … It’s tough to get him to say yes to things that he’s already said he wants. It’s very, very difficult,” Kirby said in an interview.

■ Sinwar’s ouster has been a non-negotiable goal for Israel to agree to a ceasefire, including the release of the 101 hostages that remain missing.

White House National Security adviser John Kirby has said Sinwar was the main obstacle standing in the way of ceasefire negotiations. Picture: AFP

The bigger picture: The death of Sinwar could sow chaos in the ranks of Hamas, which has already lost dozens of its senior leadership in Israel strikes and operations. While an immediate boost to Netanyahu, a long-term end to the Gaza conflict could depend on the next move from US President Joe Biden.

■ The death of Sinwar in the weeks before the election between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris could embolden Biden to apply pressure on Israel to strike a ceasefire deal. The president has questioned whether Netanyahu has been stalling in an attempt to influence the election.

■ But, terror groups like Hamas have proven to be multi-headed hydras, with new leaders emerging as quickly as one is crossed off the kill list. Command in Gaza is likely to pass to younger brother Mohammed Sinwar, 49, to continue the war. He may prove as big an obstacle to peace as his older brother.

What they’re saying: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had “settled the score” for the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. But, he added, the war was “not over yet. Biden, meanwhile, said Sinwar’s death was a “good day” not just for Israel, but for the US and the world.

■ Netanyahu: “Hamas will no longer rule Gaza. This is the beginning of the day after Hamas, and this is an opportunity for you, the residents of Gaza, to finally break free from its tyranny.”

■ Biden: “There is now the opportunity for a ‘day after’ in Gaza without Hamas in power, and for a political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike. Yahya Sinwar was an insurmountable obstacle to achieving all of those goals. That obstacle no longer exists.”