The path to a ceasefire in Gaza became somewhat murkier this week as the Israeli military killed Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar.
Against this backdrop an old interview with the late Hamas chief has gone viral on social media platforms.
“We don’t want war or fighting, because it costs lives…and our people deserve peace. For long periods, we tried peaceful and popular resistance. We expected that the world, free people and international organisations would stand by our people and stop occupation (Israel) from committing crimes and massacring our people. Unfortunately, the world stood by and watched,” Sinwar said during a 2021 interview with Vice News.
He also wondered if the world expected Palestinians to be “well-behaved victims” while facing a barrage of attacks from Israel — to be “slaughtered without making a noise”. Sinwar (then a senior commander with Hamas) had also insisted that the militant group was compelled to launch broad strikes that killed civilians in Israel because it lacked technological advances.
“Israel-which possesses a complete arsenal of weaponry, state-of-the-art equipment and aircraft intentionally bombs and kills our women and children. They do that on purpose. You cant compare that to those who resist and defend themselves with weapons that look primitive in comparison. If we had the capability to launch precision missiles that targeted military targets we wouldn’t have used the rockets that we did. We are forced to defend our people with what we have…and this is what we have,” he told the interviewer.
The slain Hamas leader was seen as a key obstacle to any agreement on the Israeli hostages seized during the October 7 attack that he orchestrated. With his group plunged into a leadership vacuum by his death, the future of hostage negotiations appears to have become even more complicated. Hamas now needs to appoint a replacement, and that person will play a key role in determining the fate of the Israelis kept hostage since its attack on October 7, 2023.