Guerre Israël-Gaza Octobre 2023

The Wall Street Journal

Citation :

During two decades in Israeli prison, Yahya Sinwar learned Hebrew fluently and devoured local newspapers and television. Now, the most senior Hamas leader in Gaza is using that knowledge to fight a war against Israel.

Israel has accused Sinwar, alongside the commander of Hamas’s military wing, Mohammed Deif, of coordinating the brutal Oct. 7 attacks that killed 1,400 Israelis, including 1,000 civilians. Hamas has taken about 200 people to Gaza as hostages.

The Israeli military says it is hunting him down as it targets senior Hamas officials in the Palestinian enclave. Israeli officials believe he is likely hiding in the labyrinth of tunnels used by Hamas militants in Gaza. Last weekend, Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht called Sinwar a “dead man walking.”

“I do believe that Deif committed the plan but the real mind, the brain of this attack was mainly Yahya Sinwar,” said Michael Milshtein, a former intelligence officer for Palestinian affairs in the Israeli army. “He really understands how the Israelis will behave, and how they think, and how they will respond.”

As Hamas leader in Gaza, Sinwar is part of a complex and secretive Hamas leadership structure that includes its military wing and a political arm. In all, there are roughly 15 people at any one time in the senior political leadership, which determines the direction of Hamas via consensus, according to the European Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank.



“I think the tragic events over the last week and Hamas’s brutal use of violence…reflects the dominance of the military movement over Hamas in a way that we haven’t seen before,” said Hugh Lovatt, a fellow at the ECFR.

Ismail Haniyeh, who led the group successfully in elections in 2006 for a legislature that later fell apart, heads Hamas’s council of leaders from Doha and helps manage its relationship with gas-rich Gulf benefactor Qatar.

Another official, Saleh al-Arouri, is the deputy political chief based in Beirut, where he helps oversee Hamas’s relationship with Hezbollah and Iran as well as the group’s operations in the West Bank.

For a time, Western officials considered whether the group was possibly moderating its position on Israel. In 2017, Hamas updated its charter of principles to indicate that it would be willing to recognize the establishment of a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank—territories Israel captured in 1967—rather than the entirety of historic Palestine. Some viewed the move as effective recognition of Israel. Hamas’s original 1988 charter vowed to destroy Israel.



But after the revised charter did little to alter the international community’s hostile view of Hamas—the U.S. has designated the organization a terror group—Sinwar was elected leader in Gaza in 2017. He succeeded Haniyeh, who took over as head of the overall leadership in Doha from Khaled Meshaal, considered a moderate by international observers.

It was a sign of the more militant turn Hamas was taking. Israeli security officials consider Sinwar one of the more hawkish members of Hamas and a bridge between the political leadership and the militant wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, led by Deif.

Deif hasn’t been seen in public for years but issued a statement as the Oct. 7 attacks unfolded, saying his army had launched an operation in response to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands. Sinwar, who has a graying beard and is often pictured scowling, has been silent since the attacks.

Spokespeople for Hamas didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Akram Attallah, a Palestinian journalist from Gaza who has met Sinwar several times, said the attack on Israel suggests the group is using more violent methods to build possible leverage for any future negotiations.

Born in the early 1960s in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, Sinwar became a student activist and was close to Hamas’s founder, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, a half-blind cleric who was assassinated by Israel in 2004, according to Israeli officials.

When Hamas shifted from being an Islamist movement to an armed group during the Palestinian uprising in the late 1980s, known as the first intifada, Sinwar helped form the forerunner to its military wing, according to Israeli officials. He also established an internal security unit that hunted informants, according to Hamas officials.

In 1988, he was arrested and later convicted of killing Israeli soldiers and given four life sentences.

In prison, Sinwar became one of the most senior incarcerated Hamas officials. He also spent hours talking to Israelis, learning the culture, and “was addicted to Israeli channels,” said a former senior Israeli prison-service official. Many Hamas members have spent time in Israeli jails, so prisoners have long been an influential part of the group’s leadership.

At some point during Sinwar’s incarceration, Israeli doctors saved the Palestinian’s life when he developed a brain illness and was operated on in an Israeli hospital, according to the former prison official and former military officials.

When Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier, was kidnapped by Hamas in 2006, Sinwar was considered in negotiations between Israel and Hamas that later led to the release of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in return for the one Israeli.



According to Gershon Baskin, who worked at the time as an interlocutor between the Israeli intelligence service and Hamas, Sinwar only just made the cut to get out as Israelis had reservations about releasing him. “He was the most senior figure in the prisons who was released,” he said.

After release, Sinwar rose quickly through Hamas ranks.

Hamas members chose Sinwar to lead in Gaza in 2017. Other Hamas leaders assured members that his election as Gaza chief would not drag the group into new rounds of internal and external violence, according to Hamas officials who spoke with The Wall Street Journal.

He developed a reputation as both a hard-liner and a pragmatist, deploying a dual strategy of engaging with Israel, while also turning to violence at times to achieve political leverage. His children, born after he left prison, often attended high-level meetings with him. He told one Hamas official that he spent two decades waiting to have children while in prison, so didn’t want to waste time.

Sinwar also pursued failed talks with the Fatah, which dominates the Palestinian Authority, the group that governs the West Bank, about reconciling with the rival Palestinian faction.  

In a rare 2018 interview published in Israeli media, Sinwar told an Italian journalist that war wasn’t in Hamas’s or Israel’s interests. “For sure, it’s not in ours: Who would like to face a nuclear power with slingshots?”

Egyptian officials who dealt with Sinwar said he led a campaign to improve the group’s relationship with Egypt, which had soured after a 2013 coup removed from power in Cairo the Muslim Brotherhood, of which Hamas is an offshoot. President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi then closed off access to the Gaza Strip from Sinai. “He is a real statesman, yet a crude fighter,” an Egyptian official said of Sinwar.

In 2021, Sinwar showed his harder side when Hamas launched rockets at Israeli cities in response to tensions between Palestinians and Jews in Jerusalem, sparking an 11-day conflict.

A Hamas official said Sinwar doesn’t just see himself as a leader inside Hamas, but as someone with a mission to protect Jerusalem and the Al Aqsa mosque there, one of Islam’s holiest shrines.  

Like now, Israel said it was seeking to kill Sinwar in 2021 too. After a cease-fire at the time, the Hamas leader walked openly around Gaza in what many Palestinians perceived as a taunt to Israel. Later, at a rally, he was photographed holding the child of a dead Hamas member and an AK-47 rifle.

According to Hamas officials, Sinwar often advocated for a wider battle with Israel where Hamas could dictate new rules of engagement. In a speech in April, he said what he called the Axis of Al Quds—Hezbollah, Iran and Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank—was ready for a fight with Israel.

“We will do our job of defending our Jerusalem, our Aqsa, our West Bank, our people and our women,” he said.



https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/hamass-gaza-chief-once-a-high-profile-prisoner-in-israel-is-now-a-dead-man-walking-c34e741a?st=9f4bzyrj236z5m9&reflink=share_mobilewebshare

shlass a écrit:

elite17 a écrit:

https://x.com/clashreport/status/1715364127873392723?s=46&t=qYiNwrtc2-LyNoCLuUIqQw

He is such a pro at dodging questions rather relevant. Kuddos to the journalist.

When she asked about Hamas attacking civilians, he said those were collaterals. That's not true, since the israeli civilians were directly targeted, lots gunned down in their homes and on the road. Him using the collateral excuse is just absurd, Israel would say the same for the palestinians dead because a Hamas phone was turned on in their building, and guess what, Israel would be right, to a degree.
Then he dodged a second time by listing countries and their own sacrifice, not the point of the question : the enemy's civilians.

Then when he talks about the hostage situation, he describes them as prisonners. They are not prisonners, they are hostages because civilian for the most parts. Only captured IDF members qualify as prisonners.

I think this Hamas/Israel war this time is weird, and hides much more in the shadows, and that there are many obscure parties at play, especially behind Hamas

are settlers really innocent civilians ? someone invading your home as a civilian should not bet called attacker ? and you attacking him is not self defence ?

@f16lover: there are no settlements in the vicinity of Gaza , all settlements are in the West Bank. 7 October attacks happened in areas under 67 borders , which Palestinians say they want their state based on it

Les amis,
Merci d'assortir vos publications en anglais, d'une traduction, même minimaliste . Idem pour l'arabe.

Tsahal affirme que son armée de l'air va, à partir d'aujourd'hui, commencer à intensifier ses frappes sur Gaza

f16lover a écrit:

are settlers really innocent civilians ? someone invading your home as a civilian should not bet called attacker ? and you attacking him is not self defence ?

They didnt attack settlers. And a kalachnikov vs a mother and her kid is not self defense


Sometimes, pro-hamas people do really sound like Polisario, maybe it's the overload of propaganda...

Also fellow members (and @pgm), dont mind me typing in english, you can use french i dont mind

Les participants au Sommet de paix du Caire sur la Palestine n’ont pas pu se mettre d’accord sur une déclaration finale en raison de désaccords entre les délégations arabes et européennes.

Les deux points de désaccord est que les européens voulaient inclure le droit d'Israël de se défendre et le deuxième dénoncer l'attaque de Hamas.

elite17 a écrit:

@f16lover: there are no settlements in the vicinity of Gaza , all settlements are in the West Bank. 7 October attacks happened in areas under 67 borders , which Palestinians say they want their state based on it

Of course they are settlements, first, Gaza Strip was much bigger in UN partition of 1947, more than half of Gaza residents are descendents of displaced civilians. Moreover, All sionist entity is a big settlement, europeans came 80 years ago and chased palestinians from their land, how is this different from any other colonial situation.

shlass a écrit:

f16lover a écrit:

are settlers really innocent civilians ? someone invading your home as a civilian should not bet called attacker ? and you attacking him is not self defence ?

They didnt attack settlers. And a kalachnikov vs a mother and her kid is not self defense


Sometimes, pro-hamas people do really sound like Polisario, maybe it's the overload of propaganda...

Also fellow members (and @pgm), dont mind me typing in english, you can use french i dont mind

Certains qui donnent des leçons aux palestiniens, voici juste un aperçu de ce qu'il vivent depuis 80 ans, un peu de décence s'il vous plaît.

https://youtu.be/B5SiGCIVyQc?feature=shared

@pyromane : 47 UN partition plan ? The same plan that the arabs refused ?
Anyways , we are speaking in matters of international laws , Gaza current borders are the same as 67 borders , none of the towns which were attacked in 7th Oct. are considered settlements under international law , the last settlements in Gaza were closed down in 2005

f16lover a écrit:

shlass a écrit:

elite17 a écrit:

https://x.com/clashreport/status/1715364127873392723?s=46&t=qYiNwrtc2-LyNoCLuUIqQw

He is such a pro at dodging questions rather relevant. Kuddos to the journalist.

When she asked about Hamas attacking civilians, he said those were collaterals. That's not true, since the israeli civilians were directly targeted, lots gunned down in their homes and on the road. Him using the collateral excuse is just absurd, Israel would say the same for the palestinians dead because a Hamas phone was turned on in their building, and guess what, Israel would be right, to a degree.
Then he dodged a second time by listing countries and their own sacrifice, not the point of the question : the enemy's civilians.

Then when he talks about the hostage situation, he describes them as prisonners. They are not prisonners, they are hostages because civilian for the most parts. Only captured IDF members qualify as prisonners.

I think this Hamas/Israel war this time is weird, and hides much more in the shadows, and that there are many obscure parties at play, especially behind Hamas

are settlers really innocent civilians ? someone invading your home as a civilian should not bet called attacker ? and you attacking him is not self defence ?

Quite funny actually that israelis have said themselves that the whole reason to have settlers and not just the army in the middle of a barren desert was to provide easy justification for the removal of palestinians. You dont remove people out of their homes and leave it empty, people would call out your ethnic cleansing but if you instead put white mothers and children, well now we care because the west didnt care about palestinian babies and mothers dying in drove in the year prior. What a total hypocrisy that we have come to call Hamas a terrorist organisation while ignoring the fact that the IDF is a terrorist army who by definition takes action to terrorize the people and force them to make their governement capitulate. Thats what you get you get spoonfed CNN and BFM TV all day i suppose... (Btw Israel has the highest rates of skin cancer in the middle east by far, quite interesting for people who say that this is their land. You'd think that since they lived there since forever their skin would of acclimated, funny how genetics work huh ....

(PS: INB4 i get accused of being some ridiculous terrorist or polisario supporter???? Btw the guys comparing palestianians who have clear legitimate claim to their land to litteral subsaharans from around africa who got their money from a made up country to destroy a millenia old claim, you gotta try harder next time. I condemn the slaughter of civilians and believe that the settlers should of all been taken prisonners and judged in a court of law since all law is just some ridiculous things states like israel can make up at their wish. However how can you expect Hamas which is litteraly like a bunch of militia men wearing sandals and carrying aks to enforce engagement rules??? The Professional military that is israel cant even stop itself from killing civilians lmao)

Traduction du rant pour @PGM :
C’est assez drôle en fait que les Israéliens eux-mêmes aient dit que la seule raison d’avoir des colons et pas seulement l’armée au milieu d’un désert aride était de fournir une justification facile au retrait des Palestiniens. Vous ne retirez pas les gens de leurs maisons et ne les laissez pas vides, les gens dénonceraient votre nettoyage ethnique, mais si vous mettez à la place des mères et des enfants blancs, eh bien maintenant, nous nous en soucions parce que l'Occident ne se soucie pas des bébés et des mères palestiniennes qui meurent en voiture au cours de l'année. avant. Quelle hypocrisie totale que d’en arriver à qualifier le Hamas d’organisation terroriste tout en ignorant le fait que Tsahal est une armée terroriste qui, par définition, agit pour terroriser la population et la forcer à faire capituler son gouvernement. C'est ce que vous obtenez, vous êtes nourris à la cuillère par CNN et BFM TV toute la journée, je suppose... (Au fait, Israël a de loin le taux de cancer de la peau le plus élevé du Moyen-Orient, ce qui est assez intéressant pour les gens qui disent que c'est leur pays. Vous auriez Je pense que comme ils vivent là depuis toujours, leur peau s'est acclimatée, c'est marrant comment fonctionne la génétique hein

(PS : INB4, je suis accusé d'être un terroriste ridicule ou un partisan du Polisario ???? Au fait, les gars qui comparent les Palestiniens qui ont clairement des revendications légitimes sur leurs terres aux subsahariens littéraux de toute l'Afrique qui ont obtenu leur argent d'un pays inventé pour détruire un affirmation vieille de plusieurs millénaires, tu devras faire plus d'efforts la prochaine fois. Je condamne le massacre de civils et je crois que les colons devraient tous être faits prisonniers et jugés par un tribunal, car toute loi n'est que des choses ridicules que des États comme Israël peuvent inventer leur souhait. Cependant, comment pouvez-vous vous attendre à ce que le Hamas soit littéralement comme un groupe de miliciens portant des sandales et portant des aks pour faire respecter les règles d'engagement ??? L'armée professionnelle qu'est Israël ne peut même pas s'empêcher de tuer des civils lmao)

Gaza est un grand boogietrap pour Tsahal et ils le savent. Leur attaques aeriens vont pas changer la donne. Leur reservistes sont habitué aux petits accrochages de cisjordanie, Hamas leur a preparé un scenario à la Vietcong.
Et au moment opportune, Hezbollah va leur ouvrir le deuxieme front.

Les Americains savent que les Perses jouent aux échecs.

BennyBlanco a écrit:

Gaza est un grand boogietrap pour Tsahal et ils le savent. Leur attaques aeriens vont pas changer la donne. Leur reservistes sont habitué aux petits accrochages de cisjordanie, Hamas leur a preparé un scenario à la Vietcong.
Et au moment opportune, Hezbollah va leur ouvrir le deuxieme front.

Les Americains savent que les Perses jouent aux échecs.

franchement au long terme ptt mais les americains ont 2 porte avion dans la zone et plus en standy. Ils n'ont pas pris de chance cette fois, mais je ne sais pas, peut etre qu'ils y a une carte des iraniens que je n'ais pas vu.

elite17 a écrit:

@pyromane : 47 UN partition plan ? The same plan that the arabs refused ?
Anyways , we are speaking in matters of international laws , Gaza current borders are the same as 67 borders , none of the towns which were attacked in 7th Oct. are considered settlements under international law , the last settlements in Gaza were closed down in 2005

International law never recognized the 1948 annexions. So you are talking about inexistant law.
Meanwhile, the right of return for the refugees is guaranteed by international law, hence old palestinian villages are still Palestinians by international law.
Moreover, the zionist entity never claimed clear boarders, there is no official zionist document stating their land claims, simply because their only strategy is to annex whatever they can.

Kille24 a écrit:

BennyBlanco a écrit:

Gaza est un grand boogietrap pour Tsahal et ils le savent. Leur attaques aeriens vont pas changer la donne. Leur reservistes sont habitué aux petits accrochages de cisjordanie, Hamas leur a preparé un scenario à la Vietcong.
Et au moment opportune, Hezbollah va leur ouvrir le deuxieme front.

Les Americains savent que les Perses jouent aux échecs.

franchement au long terme ptt mais les americains ont 2 porte avion dans la zone et plus en standy. Ils n'ont pas pris de chance cette fois, mais je ne sais pas, peut etre qu'ils y a une carte des iraniens que je n'ais pas vu.

La dernière fois les americains ont perdu 150 marines au Liban, s'ils veulent s'y aventurer ils doivent être prêts à une guerre longue à l'irakienne, le hezb aura en plus une profondeur stratégique qui va jusqu'en Iran, donc à moins que les US aient prévu 1000 Mds $ à dépenser dans la région je ne crois pas trop. Autre chose, je ne vois pas ce qu'apporte l'aviation marine US que les sionistes ne possèdent pas déjà. Les US ont juste trouvé un prétexte pour augmenter la pression sur la mer noire, et Putin ne s'y est pas trompé en mettant les US en garde.

L'aviation US est présente pour l'Iran and co on assiste à une partie d'échec à échelle mondiale chacun avancent ces pions. il n'empêche que les américains jouent leur réputation et leur leadership  si jamais par je ne sais quel concours de circonstance ils étaient amené à perdre un de leur fleuron ça risquerai de devenir très compliqué pour la suite et beaucoup n'attendent que ça.

Look at the "Dima maghreb" on the wall...