EDITORIAL: Is death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar beginning of the end for Israel-Gaza war?

One year and 10 days after the bloody act of murder which was the catalyst for the hideous war, we may finally have seen the beginning of its end.

The death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on Thursday may prove to be a pivotal moment.

Hamas has lost its top commander. And Israel has its vengeance for the slaughter of 1200 of its citizens.

The leaderships of Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon have now been decimated by Israel’s methodical decapitation campaign. Sinwar, as the chief architect of the October 7 atrocity, is its biggest scalp yet, more so even than his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah.

In the end, Sinwar’s end — killed amidst the rubble of Gaza — mirrored the deaths of so many Palestinians his actions in igniting this war have caused.

An estimated 42,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the conflict began. The city itself has been reduced to ruin. To Sinwar and his fanatical ilk, this was acceptable collateral damage in their deranged mission to destroy Israel.

The grinding war and the devastation and misery it has caused have fomented opposition to Hamas among civilians in Gaza.

Sinwar’s death is an opportunity for Palestinians to shake themselves free from the terrorist group’s cancerous grip.

It provides an off-ramp to Israel as well.

Some are hoping it may persuade Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire, in return for the release of the remaining 101 hostages, about half of whom are believed to be dead.

The devastation wrought by Israel on its enemies since the October 7 atrocities has re-established military deterrence. Attack Israel and expect to pay a heavy price.

In announcing Sinwar’s death, Mr Netanyahu said Hamas would not be allowed to continue to rule Gaza.

“Today evil has suffered a heavy blow, but the task before us is not yet complete,” he said.

That is a statement that points to the other option before Israel.

Hamas has been severely weakened, its leadership reduced to a husk. Hezbollah too is in dire straits.

So why stop now? Why not continue to dismantle the so-called axis of resistance, the network of terrorist militias through which Iran attacks Israel?

There is an important lesson in Sinwar’s death too for Australia’s leaders.

It exposes the enormous folly of our nation’s badgering of Israel, led by Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong, to agree to a ceasefire with Hamas months ago.

If Israel had heeded those calls, Sinwar would be alive today to continue his war against Israel and to sacrifice many thousands more Palestinian lives in the process.

The world is a safer place for his death — for both Israelis and Palestinians.

Responsibility for the editorial is taken by Editor-in-Chief Christopher Dore