DUBAI: The world’s final glimpse of Hamas’ leader was rough and raw, showing him wounded and cornered as he sat in a bombed-out Palestinian home and faced down the Israeli drone filming him, hurling a stick at it.
For Israel, the scene was one of victory, showing Yahya Sinwar, the architect of Oct. 7, broken and defeated.
But many in the Arab and Muslim world — whether supporters of Hamas or not — saw something different in the grainy footage: a defiant martyr who died fighting to the end.
Clips from the released drone footage went viral on social media, accompanied by quotes from Sinwar’s speeches in which he declared that he would rather die on the battlefield. An oil painting of a masked Sinwar sitting proudly on an armchair was widely shared, apparently inspired by the last image of him alive.
“By broadcasting the last minutes of the life of Yahya Sinwar, the occupation made his life longer than the lives 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 it could bring an end to the devastating war triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that he is said to have directed. Across the Arab and Muslim world, and away from the devastation in Gaza, opinions varied.
One thing, though, was clear. The footage was hailed by supporters and even some critics as evidence of a man killed in confrontation who at least wasn’t hidden in a tunnel surrounded by hostages as Israel has said he was for much of the last year.
Three days after he was killed, Israel’s military dropped leaflets in south Gaza, showing another image of Sinwar lying dead on a chair, with his finger cut and blood running down his forehead. “Sinwar destroyed your lives. He hid in a dark hole and was liquidated while escaping fearfully,” the leaflet said.
“I don’t think there is a Palestinian leader of the first rank who died in a confrontation (like Sinwar), according to what the leaked Israeli version shows,” said Sadeq Abu Amer, head of the Palestinian Dialogue Group, an Istanbul-based think tank.
Sinwar’s demise was different
Unlike Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in his hotel room in Iran, or the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group 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 powerhouse and a main backer of Hamas, went further. It contrasted Sinwar’s death with that of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Tehran’s archenemy.
In a statement by Iran’s UN Mission, it said Saddam appeared disheveled out of an underground hole, dragged by US forces while “he begged them not to kill him despite being armed.” Sinwar, on the other hand, was killed in the open while “facing the enemy,” Iran said.
In a strongly worded statement, the Cairo-based Al-Azhar, the highest seat of Sunni Muslim learning in the world, blasted Israel’s portrayal of Sinwar as a terrorist. Without naming Sinwar, the statement said that the “martyrs of the resistance” died defending their land and their cause.
In Israel, the army’s Arabic-speaking spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, described Sinwar as “defeated, outcast, and persecuted.” Many celebrated the news of the killing of the architect of the Oct. 7 attack.
Video posted online showed a lifeguard on a Tel Aviv beach announcing the news to applause, while Israeli media showed soldiers handing out sweets. Residents of Sderot, a town that was attacked by Hamas militants, were filmed dancing on the streets, some wrapped in Israeli flags. On Telegram, some shared pictures of a dead Sinwar, likening him to a rat.
But there were also protests from families of hostages and their supporters who want Israeli leaders to use 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 publishing footage of Sinwar’s last moments would demoralize us, make us feel defeat,” she wrote on X. “In reality, the footage immortalizes Sinwar and galvanizes all of us to have courage and resolve 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 Palestinian displaced from Gaza City.
For Saleh Shonnar, a resident of north Gaza now displaced to the center, tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed. “Hundreds, tens of senior leaders were martyred and replaced with new leaders.”
In Khan Younis, Sinwar’s birthplace, mourners in a bombed-out mosque recited the funeral prayer for a Muslim when the body is missing. Israel has kept Sinwar’s body. Dozens of men and children took part in the prayers.
And in Wadi Al-Zayne, a town in Lebanon’s Chouf region with a significant Palestinian population, Bilal Farhat said that Sinwar’s death made him a symbol of heroic resistance.
“He died fighting on the front line. It gives him some sort of mystical hero aura,” Farhat said.
Some Palestinians took to X to criticize Sinwar and dismiss his death in comparison to their own suffering. One speaker on a recorded discussion said there is no way of telling how he died. Another blamed him for 18 years of suffering, calling him a “crazy man” who started a war he couldn’t win. “If he is dear, we had many more dear ones killed,” one yelled.
In the long run, the think tank’s Abu Amer said that the effect of the support and empathy for Sinwar after his death is unlikely to change the Arab public’s view of Oct. 7 and what followed.
“Those who supported Oct. 7 will continue to, and those who opposed Oct. 7 — and they are many — will keep their opinions, even if they show sympathy or admiration for him. Most Palestinians are now focused on ending the war,” he said.
In Israeli footage of the last minutes of Hamas leader’s life, some see a symbol of defiance
https://arab.news/cdr3d
In Israeli footage of the last minutes of Hamas leader’s life, some see a symbol of defiance
- For Israel, the scene was one of victory, showing Yahya Sinwar, the architect of Oct. 7, broken and defeated
- Many in the Arab and Muslim world — whether supporters of Hamas or not — saw something different in the grainy footage: a defiant martyr who died fighting to the end
Rubio says some ‘optimism’ Gaza war could end ‘pretty quickly’
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced guarded optimism Wednesday for a solution “pretty quickly” to end the Gaza war.
“I have some level of optimism that we may have breakthrough achievements here quickly, hopefully on an end to this and the release of all the hostages,” Rubio told a congressional hearing.
How dried-out wetlands on the Iran-Iraq border threaten the region
- Plans to drill for oil in the receding marshes have galvanised activists to save the mythical wetlands
LONDON: The dust storms that have choked Iranians and Iraqis for weeks and hospitalized thousands, are the canary in the coalmine for a complex environmental disaster unfolding in wetlands straddling the two countries’ border.
The Hoor Al-Hawizeh wetlands, north of the southern Iraqi city of Basra, are drying out and experts warn that continued decline, including in the connected Hoor Al-Azim marshes in Iran, could drive water shortages, migration and even conflict.
“These marshes once acted as natural barriers, trapping fine sediments and maintaining soil moisture,” said Hossein Hashemi, an associate professor of water resource engineering at Lund University in Sweden.
“But their shrinkage, caused by upstream dam construction, wartime destruction, and climate change, has exposed vast stretches of loose, dry sediment,” he said.
“As winds sweep across these barren areas, they lift large quantities of fine dust, leading to more frequent and intense storms.”
The degradation of the wetlands, part of the Mesopotamian Marshes, also threatens unique wildlife, including softshell turtles, birds, fish and water plants.
Hoor Al-Hawizeh is recognized by UNESCO for its biodiversity and cultural heritage, and Iraqi sections are designated wetlands of international importance on the Ramsar List, the world’s largest list of protected areas.
On the Iran side, Hoor Al-Azim is a crucial source of food, water, jobs and tourism to millions of people in the southwestern Khuzestan province. But now it is under threat.
“This brings with it the issue of forced migration, displacement, conflict, poverty, unemployment, hunger and more,” said Kaveh Madani, director of the UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health and a former deputy head of Iran’s Department of Environment.
Data from Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran shows that since the early 1970s, Hoor Al-Azim has declined from some 124,000 hectares to 60,650 hectares.
That means nearly half of its original area, including water and reed beds, has disappeared, mainly, scientists say, because of oil exploration, farming, dam building and climate change.
“The degradation has contributed to the displacement of local communities, increased poverty, and reduced agricultural productivity,” said Ali Torabi Haghighi, associate professor of water resource management at the University of Oulu in Finland.
“It has led to severe biodiversity loss, particularly among migratory bird species, native fish populations, and other aquatic and semi-aquatic life,” he added.
In July 2021, one of the largest waves of nationwide protests began in Khuzestan over drought and water shortages. Security forces killed dozens and thousands were arrested, according to the human rights group, Amnesty International.
Those same stresses persist today with temperatures exceeding 55 degrees Celsius in the summer months and drought again stalking the land.
In May, around a thousand people were hospitalized in Khuzestan each day with heart and respiratory illnesses from sand and dust storms.
Madani said urgent action was needed, not least to prevent political tensions flaring with countries accusing each other of not releasing enough water into the wetlands.
Wildfires exacerbate the pollution. In early May, thousands of hectares of Hoor Al-Azim caught fire, local media said.
Earlier this year, smoke and pollution from fires on the Iraqi side of the wetlands engulfed villages in Khuzestan, forcing schools and offices to shut for days.
As well as climate effects, human activities are degrading the marshes. Around 80 percent of Iran’s oil production is in Khuzestan and a 2021 study found that since the early 2000s, oil exploration projects have caused “significant damage.”
Hamidreza Khodabakhshi, a water planning expert and environmental activist in Khuzestan, said oil exploration had caused parts of the wetlands to dry up.
“Road construction and pipeline installation have not only damaged the ecosystem, but also blocked the natural flow of water,” he said.
In February, Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad told a meeting in Ahvaz, the main city in Khuzestan, that the government took responsibility.
“We are the ones who dried up the wetland, and we are the ones who hurt the people of Khuzestan — now we need to prioritize the employment needs of locals,” he said.
The Hoor Al-Hawizeh marshes are fed by water from the Tigris River in Iraq and the Karkheh River in southwest Iran — sources that have sometimes become a point of conflict.
Iran, Iraq and Turkiye have constructed dams upstream that scientists say have significantly harmed Hoor Al-Hawizeh.
Since 2009, the marsh has also been effectively divided by a 65-km dyke built along the border by Iran to keep water inside its territory.
Haghighi said tensions also flared over water allocation.
“In many cases, maintaining ecological water flows is given lower priority compared to agricultural, hydropower and municipal uses, resulting in severe consequences for wetland health,” he said.
Scientists hope to raise the case of Hoor Al-Azim at the next meeting of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in Zimbabwe in July.
“Sand and dust storms and wildfires are examples of the complex problems that are going to require complex solutions through diplomacy and cooperation,” Madani said.
Aoun, Abbas agree Lebanon will not be used as launchpad for strikes against Israel
- ‘Era of weapons outside the authority of the Lebanese state has ended,’ presidents say
- Leaders also call for ‘just and lasting peace in the region’
BEIRUT: The Lebanese and Palestinian presidents have agreed that Palestinian factions will not use Lebanon as a launchpad for any attacks against Israel.
The two sides also agreed on Wednesday to remove weapons that are not under the authority of the Lebanese state.
The announcement came at the start of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ three-day visit to Lebanon.
Abbas and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun affirmed their “commitment to the principle of exclusive possession of weapons by the Lebanese state and to ending any manifestations that fall outside the framework of the Lebanese state.”
In a joint statement they highlighted “the importance of respecting Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and their belief that the era of weapons outside the authority of the Lebanese state has ended — especially since the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples have for many decades borne heavy losses and made great sacrifices.”
They said also that the Palestinian side “affirmed its commitment not to use Lebanese territory as a launchpad for any military operations and to respect Lebanon’s declared policy of non-interference in the affairs of other countries and avoiding regional conflicts.”
Both sides agreed the need to reach “a just and lasting peace in the region that would allow the Palestinian people to establish their independent state following relevant international legitimacy resolutions, while also ensuring that all countries and peoples in the region obtain their rightful and legitimate rights.”
The statement condemned the “ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the resulting severe human losses and unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe” and called on the international community “to take immediate and serious action to stop it and to provide full protection for Palestinian civilians.”
Abbas arrived at Beirut airport at about 1 p.m. and immediately headed to the presidential headquarters. A presidential source said the talks focused on the issue of “Palestinian weapons in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, the extension of full Lebanese state authority over these camps and the implementation framework for the plan.”
Aoun and Abbas underscored “the urgent need to strengthen the role of the UN and its institutions in safeguarding the Palestinian people, upholding international law and ensuring the enforcement of the resolutions of international legitimacy.”
They condemned the “repeated Israeli attacks on Lebanon” and called on “the international community, particularly the US and France, to pressure Israel to follow the agreement reached under their auspices in November 2024. The agreement stresses a cessation of hostilities, the withdrawal from Israeli-occupied hills and the release of Lebanese prisoners.”
Implementing such measures was “essential for allowing the Lebanese army to complete its deployment to the internationally recognized borders, following Resolution 1701, to which Lebanon remains fully committed,” they said.
The two sides highlighted the need to “enhance coordination between official Lebanese and Palestinian authorities to maintain stability within and around the Palestinian camps” and their commitment to “strengthening cooperation in the fight against terrorism and extremism and to ensuring that the camps do not serve as safe havens for extremist groups.”
On the issue of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, they stressed the importance of “continued support for UN agency UNRWA, the continuation of its services to refugees and increasing its financial resources to enable it to fulfill its obligations.”
They also agreed to form a joint Lebanese-Palestinian committee to monitor the situation in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon and work to improve the living conditions of refugees, “while respecting Lebanese sovereignty and adhering to Lebanese laws.”
During his visit, Abbas is scheduled to hold meetings with parliament speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and other senior officials and representatives of Palestinian factions from the refugee camps.
Also, the Hani Fahas Academy for Dialogue and Peace will honor Abbas with the 2025 Peacemakers Award at a ceremony on Thursday in Beirut, “in recognition of his efforts to promote Lebanese-Palestinian reconciliation.”
This is not the first time the issue of weapons in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon has been raised. The matter was included as a clause in the 2006 Doha Agreement and was discussed during the Lebanese National Dialogue in 2008, chaired by former President Michel Suleiman.
The discussion focused on the need to disarm Palestinian factions in refugee camps and in politically protected Palestinian communities.
The clause was not enforced however, leading to clashes in the Nahr Al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp between the Lebanese army and Palestinian factions supported by the former Syrian regime.
The issue was tackled again during Abbas’ visit to Lebanon in 2013. In a meeting with Suleiman he said Palestinians were “guests in Lebanon and are subject to the law.”
“The Palestinian presence in Lebanon is temporary and the Lebanese territory’s unity and sovereignty are a sacred matter for us. We count on the Lebanese government to protect the safety of Palestinian refugees and ensure their well-being,” he said.
Ain Al-Helweh — the biggest and most populated Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon — witnessed armed clashes in 2013 between the Jund Al-Sham and Fath Al-Islam factions, resulting in the death of 16 Lebanese soldiers.
Abbas also visited Lebanon in 2017 and held talks with former President Michel Aoun. The following year, bloody clashes erupted within Ain Al-Helweh between the Fatah Movement and armed extremists, resulting in rifts between Palestinian factions there.
Further clashes took place in 2023 between members of Fatah and individuals affiliated with extremist groups close to Hamas.
According to a 2017 census by the Central Administration of Statistics in Lebanon and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 174,422 Palestinian refugees were living in camps and other pockets across Lebanon.
There were also Palestinian military centers affiliated with Palestinian factions loyal to the Syrian regime located outside the Palestinian camps, specifically in Bekaa, which were handed over to the Lebanese army following the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime.
The Palestinian arms crisis reached its peak following the implementation of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah in November last year, when members of Hamas repeatedly launched rockets toward the Israeli side from southern Lebanon.
The Lebanese army pursued and apprehended several suspects but four evaded capture and went into hiding in Palestinian refugee camps in Tyre. Three were later surrendered by Hamas following pressure from the Lebanese government on its leadership, while the fourth, reportedly a religious figure, remains at large.
Haitham Zaiter, a member of the Palestinian National and Central Council, said in a statement that Abbas’ visit carried “a message of support for Lebanon.”
“During the meetings, it will be emphasized that Palestinians are guests on Lebanese territory, respect sovereignty and abide by Lebanese laws until their return to their homeland. This is a right that cannot be waived and does not expire with time,” he said.
“Discussions will also address issues related to the living, social and civil rights of refugees, as well as the right to work and own property in Lebanon, which require amending some laws. It will also be emphasized that Palestinians in Lebanese territory are subject to the law.”
Rubio steers clear of branding Putin ‘war criminal’
- “Crimes have been committed in the war on Ukraine, and there will be accountability for that,” Rubio said
- Keating accused Rubio of being “inconsistent” and “equivocating“
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday steered clear of calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal,” saying the priority was negotiations to end the Ukraine conflict.
In a fiery congressional hearing, Democratic Representative Bill Keating recalled Rubio’s heated criticism of Putin’s record when the top US diplomat served as a senator, and asked him if he still believed Putin is a “war criminal.”
“Crimes have been committed in the war on Ukraine, and there will be accountability for that, but our goal right now is to end that war,” Rubio said.
“Because let me tell you, every single day that that war goes on, people are killed, more people are maimed and, frankly, more war crimes are being committed,” he said.
Keating accused Rubio of being “inconsistent” and “equivocating.”
Rubio later responded to a fellow Republican by saying there was a value in speaking to Russia.
“If there had not been communications between the US and Russia in 1961,” Rubio said, “the world could have ended during the Cuban Missile Crisis.”
President Donald Trump spoke Monday by telephone to Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his latest effort, so far unsuccessful, to end the war.
Putin, who had faced international isolation during former president Joe Biden’s administration, has rebuffed US calls backed by Ukraine for a 30-day ceasefire.
Tens of thousands have died, mainly civilians, since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Early in the war, dozens of civilians were found dead in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha following a months-long occupation by Russian forces.
Putin faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over the transfer of children from Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine into Russia.
Israel supreme court rules security chief sacking ‘unlawful’, Netanyahu barred from naming new one
- The ruling is the latest twist in a judiciary and political affair
- Wednesday’s ruling noted “irregularities” in the process that led to Bar’s sacking
JERUSALEM: Israel’s supreme court on Wednesday ruled as “unlawful” the government’s decision to fire domestic security chief Ronen Bar in March, a move which had triggered mass protests in the country.
“The Supreme Court ruled that the government’s decision to terminate the head of the Shin Bet’s tenure was made through an improper and unlawful process,” the court ruling said.
The ruling is the latest twist in a judiciary and political affair that shook Israel since the government’s decision to sack Bar in March, which the supreme court froze.
Israel’s government said in late April it had canceled its decision to fire Bar, a day after he announced he would stand down following weeks of tension with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Wednesday’s ruling noted “irregularities” in the process that led to Bar’s sacking, as well as “a disregard for fundamental principles regarding internal security.”
Israel's attorney general on Wednesday barred Netanyahu from appointing the next head of the domestic intelligence agency after the court decision.
“The court ruled that the prime minister acted in a situation of conflict of interest,” Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said, adding that “as a result, he must refrain from any action related to the appointment of a new head of the Shin Bet until legal guidelines are established to ensure the integrity of the process.”
However, Netanyahu said his government would appoint a new chief for the Shin Bet agency despite the attorney general's announcement.
The move to sack Bar sparked large protests across Israel led by the opposition, which saw it as a sign Netanyahu’s government’s was slipping toward autocracy.
Netanyahu had argued that the government was allowed to sack Bar, whom he blames for the security failure that allowed Hamas’ deadly October 7, 2023, attack to unfold.
Noting Bar’s decision to quit the job, the supreme court ruling said that “this announcement puts an end to the (legal) procedure.”
