Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar remains committed to Israel’s destruction By Reuters

By Samia Nakhoul

(Reuters) – Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is unrepentant about the Oct. 7 attacks a year ago, people in contact with him say, despite unleashing an Israeli invasion that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, laid waste to his Gaza homeland and rained destruction on ally Hezbollah.

For Sinwar, 62, architect of the Hamas cross-border raids that became the deadliest day in Israel’s history, armed struggle remains the only way to force the creation of a Palestinian nation, four Palestinian officials and two sources from governments in the Middle East said. 

The Oct. 7 attacks killed 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and captured 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies, in the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.

Israel responded by launching a massive offensive, killing 41,600 people and displacing 1.9 million, according to Palestinian health authorities and U.N. figures.

Now the conflict has spread to Lebanon, with Israel heavily degrading Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah, including killing most of its leadership. Hamas patron Tehran is at risk of being pulled into open war with Israel.

Sinwar has drawn Iran and its entire “Axis of Resistance” – comprising Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis and Iraqi militias – into conflict with Israel, said Hassan Hassan, an author and researcher on Islamic groups.

“We’re seeing now the ripple effects of Oct.7. Sinwar’s gamble didn’t work,” Hassan said, suggesting that the Axis of Resistance may never recover. 

“What Israel did to Hezbollah in two weeks is almost equal to a whole year of degrading Hamas in Gaza. With Hezbollah, three layers of leadership have been eliminated, its military command has been decimated, and its important leader Hassan Nasrallah has been assassinated,” added Hassan.

However, Sinwar’s grip on the Hamas remains unwavering, despite some signs of dissent among Gazans.

He was chosen as the Islamist movement’s overall leader after his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh was killed in July by a suspected Israeli strike during a visit to Tehran. Israel has not confirmed its involvement in the strike.  

Operating from the shadows of a network of labyrinthine tunnels under Gaza, two Israeli sources said Sinwar and his brother, also a top commander, appear to have so far survived Israeli airstrikes, which have reportedly killed his deputy Mohammed Deif and other senior leaders.

Dubbed “The Face of Evil” by Israel, Sinwar operates in secrecy, moving constantly and using trusted…