Sinwar’s murderous credentials didn’t stop many media, social platforms and fellow terrorists from hailing him as a hero. Unsurprisingly, the Biden-Harris Administration and other Western leaders took the opportunity to call again for an immediate ceasefire—trying to stop Israel’s momentum, so its goal of destroying Hamas cannot be achieved.

Sinwar was no hero. He was a genocidal terrorist who brutalized not just Jews, but also fellow Palestinians. He spent over two decades in Israeli prison and continued his brutality after being released, ruling the Gaza Strip ruthlessly, with an iron fist.

In recent months, Sinwar hid like a rat in Hamas’s vast tunnel system as ordinary, impoverished Gazans suffered the horrors of war. He died, not fighting—but on the run from the IDF. In short, he lived as a coward and died as one.

In no case is Sinwar’s death cause for a ceasefire. Indeed, the West’s soft-diplomacy approach towards Iran and its terrorist proxies, including Hamas, has invariably failed.

As usual, the U.S. watchword is “regional stability”—meaning Israel’s enemies may remain alive to attack again. Yet Israel and many military experts agree the time is riper than ever to complete the job with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Inasmuch as Western leaders, including President Biden, approved of Sinwar’s killing, they now use his death as an opportunity to pressure Israel again to stray from its military strategy and retreat. Israel, having chalked up successive victories against Iran and its proxies, is naturally inclined to stay its course.

While U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jerusalem last week tried once more to pitch Israel’s government on laying down arms, they flatly rejected his tired arguments. Indeed, it’s time also for the United States to move back to the winning side of Middle East history.

Sinwar was neither a hero nor a freedom fighter. He earned the nickname, the Butcher of Khan Yunis, not for fighting Israel, but for brutally torturing and killing Palestinians suspected of collaborating with the Jewish state. In 1988, Israel sentenced him to four life terms for orchestrating the abduction and killing of two Israeli soldiers and four Palestinians he considered collaborators.

Sinwar spent 22 years in prison, continuing his reign of terror by torturing fellow inmates. He was one of the thousand prisoners released in 2010 in exchange for IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, whom Hamas abducted four years prior. He subsequently returned to Gaza, where he ruled in the same fashion as other Arab dictators, tolerating no dissent. Like other Hamas leaders, Sinwar got rich off the impoverished Gazans, his net worth estimated between $1-3 billion.

On October 6^th, anticipating Israel’s response to the massacre the following day, Sinwar hid in his luxury tunnel, stocked with food and humanitarian aid meant for civilians, weapons, and a stash of millions in cash. He hid in comfort, not caring about the horror that Gazans above ground were about to suffer. In fact, he considered their deaths necessary for defeating Israel.

Sinwar died hiding, not fighting. After his death, the Iranian military posted on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “Yahya Sinwar was a hero with a young heart who fought the Zionist regime until his last breath and bullet.” Wrong. Sinwar spent the war hiding in tunnels, using several Israeli hostages as human shields. After these hostages were starved to the point where they could no longer accompany Sinwar, they were murdered. Eventually, Sinwar had to come to the surface as the IDF destroyed the tunnels he hid in.

Many who saw the film of Sinwar’s last moments made much of the fact that his last act was to throw a stick at the IDF drone used to track him. This was an act of desperation, not heroism. When the IDF patrol found Sinwar, he was hiding under three blankets, like a small child hiding from “monsters” under his bed. Newsweek reported, “He had the pocket litter of a bum—a pack of mentos, tissues, some money, and a fake passport with the occupation listed as employee of UNRWA.” As Israel Hayom’s Yehuda Shlezinger wrote, Sinwar “wasn’t a great fighter, more of a cowardly flea.”

The West uses Sinwar’s death as an excuse to promote its tired, bankrupt ceasefire solution. While the Biden-Harris Administration praised Israel for killing Sinwar, they immediately called for an end to the war. Biden said that Israel should “move on,” while Vice President Kamala Harris remarked, “This moment gives us an opportunity to finally end the war.” Other Western leaders followed suit. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, for example, said, “The answer is diplomacy, and we must make the most of this moment.” On the contrary, Western nations simply misunderstand Israel’s existential mission: Destroy the threat of its decades-long enemy.

A ceasefire today makes no sense. Hamas’s demands—cessation of Israeli military operations in Gaza, the complete withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza, and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners— have not changed, in spite of Sinwar’s death. Israel has never agreed to these conditions and never will. Even worse, Hamas never agrees to release all the hostages.

Why should Israel to agree to a ceasefire when it is so close to destroying Hamas in Gaza for good? It would be as if the Allies agreed to a ceasefire with the Nazis upon reaching the gates of Berlin.

The elimination of Sinwar doesn’t mean the war is over. As National Security Spokesman John Kirby said, “They (Hamas) still exist as a terrorist organization. They’re still in Gaza. They’re still holding hostages.” Thus, it makes greater sense for Israel to continue its relentless military pressure on and degradation of the terrorist organization.

Please make the point when speaking with family, friends, colleagues—or in letters to the editor—that the West is making a mistake to insist on its failed soft-diplomacy strategy in the Middle East. The situation would end better if the U.S. were to support Israel’s successful offensive against the global jihad—or at least step out of Israel’s way and let it finish the job.

If you agree we need to spread this truth, please use your email browser to forward this Hotline issue to fellow lovers of Israel—and encourage them to join us by subscribing to the Hotline at no charge.

Best regards,
Jason Shvili, Contributing Editor
Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME)

P.S. The riots, vandalism and illegal trespassing on American college campuses have sharpened the knives of the Israel haters. It’s become clear that the “pro-Palestinian” protesters are purely anti-Israel and support the genocide of Jews “between the river and the sea.” Scandalously, we’ve also seen hard evidence that university administrators are willing to ignore or openly support the antisemitic hate speech and harassment of Jewish students—though they would never permit such behavior against other minorities. I hope you’ll agree that we supporters of Jewish students and hate-free campuses need to speak out. FLAME’s new hasbarah—explanatory message—“Stop Terrorism on Campus”—calls for four actions to eliminate campus outlaws and to restore rights to all students. Please review this convincing, fact-based editorial, which FLAME recently published in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Tampa Bay Times, Denver Post and Mercury News. This piece will also be sent to all members of Congress, Vice President Harris and President Biden. If you agree that this kind of public relations effort on Israel’s behalf is critical, I urge you to support us with a donation.

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