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GOP
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Yahya Sinwar, the de facto leader of Hamas for the past 7 years, was killed late Wednesday. This was not an Osama bin Laden-style special ops situation; Israeli soldiers from the Bislach Brigade were conducting operations in the Tal El Sultan area of southern Gaza, engaged a handful of enemy combatants, and learned, to their surprise, that they had dealt a mortal blow to Sinwar. His identity has since been confirmed with both DNA tests and dental records.
Whatever position one takes on the Palestinian people and their cause, there is little to mourn when it comes to Sinwar's passing. He was a vicious man who embraced violence, and who was willing to sacrifice innocent Israelis AND innocent Palestinians in service of his agenda. He was also a major obstacle toward peace in Gaza, inasmuch as he saw continued combat and continued violence as useful in service of both his personal goals and the goals of the Palestinian people, as he perceived them. There are reports that even many Palestinians are relieved that he is gone; we see no reason to doubt this.
So, does that mean peace might come to Israel? Certainly, Joe Biden hopes so. He congratulated the Israeli government on eliminating Sinwar, and declared that now is the time to get serious about peace talks. Kamala Harris said very nearly the same thing.
And there may indeed be reason for optimism. Sinwar was a very important symbol, on both sides of the conflict. For many in Israel, and in particular for many hardliners in the Israeli government, a peace agreement that left Sinwar in power was simply inconceivable. To make use of a parallel we've already deployed once, it would be like a U.S. president trying to reach a peace deal with bin Laden. Not gonna happen, politically impossible.
That said, don't break out your John Lennon records, so you can play "Give Peace a Chance," quite yet. First, it will take some amount of time for Hamas' newly developed leadership vacuum to be filled. Exactly what kind of person fills it will matter a lot. And even if the person/people who replace Sinwar are more open to a resolution, it will take time to hammer out any sort of deal. In particular, it would take a miracle for there to be some sort of serious move toward a cease fire before the U.S. presidential election. Although that IS the part of the world that is known for miracles (it's in the brochures), and it could be that even a little progress toward peace will be enough to influence the election. You never know.
It is also the case that while the specific issue of Palestinian suffering might recede, Israeli combat operations will not, not for a while. The government there has every intention of maintaining a substantial presence in Gaza for a long time. And, of course, the war against Hezbollah will continue, largely independent of what happens with Hamas and Gaza. So, while the passing of Sinwar is a step in the right direction, it's only one of many that are yet to come. (Z)