This week is the Yahrzeit of those killed in the Hamas massacre last Simchat Torah. It is, inevitably, a desperately sad day – so out of kilter with the joy of this most celebratory yomtov. But amidst the mourning, there is now more cause for hope with the death of Yahya Sinwar, a man who personified evil and the progenitor of October 7. At the very least his killing by the IDF represents justice. But it may also mean that the possibility of a deal over the hostages has increased; Sinwar was widely regarded by those involved in negotiations as the main obstacle.
There us a wider point, too, about his death. When Israel began its military response there was near universal support for its right to defend itself. As always happens, that support soon dissipated and even allies such as the US and UK started to demand that Israel curtail its operations – specifically and publicly attacking the idea of extending the IDF’s reach to Rafah. Had Israel bowed to those demands, Sinwar would still be alive and Hamas would not have been reduced to its current state. Sometimes, as the past week has made clear, in order to maximise the chances of peace, military action is the most sensible option.
