At this point we've all seen a lot of leftists agitators demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. Stuff like this has become so common that it's almost background noise at this point.
BREAKING: Protesters with IfNotNow have blocked off the 405 freeway in West LA.
— Jon peltz (@JonnyPeltz) August 13, 2024
They are calling for all elected democracts ahead of the DNC to call got a lasting ceasefire in Gaze, reject AIPAC money, and call for an arms embargo to Israel: pic.twitter.com/fiFFzkkv3o
What these folks never seem willing to acknowledge is that Hamas doesn't want a ceasefire. More to the point, the leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, warns war. Sinwar's goal for 10/7 wasn't to defeat Israel, it was to inspire other groups to join in the killing. He wanted to spark a wider war on Israel than the one his forces could bring. And nearly a year later, even after most of his forces and thousands of civilians have been killed, he has no regrets.
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is unrepentant about the Oct. 7 attacks a year ago, people in contact with him say, despite unleashing an Israeli invasion that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, laid waste to his Gaza homeland and rained destruction on ally Hezbollah.
For Sinwar, 62, architect of the Hamas cross-border raids that became the deadliest day in Israel's history, armed struggle remains the only way to force the creation of a Palestinian nation, four Palestinian officials and two sources from governments in the Middle East said.
If anything, recent events have only hardened Sinwar's resolve. He is still hoping Iran and whatever is left of Hezbollah will go on the attack.
The leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, has become fatalistic after nearly a year of war in Gaza and is determined to see Israel embroiled in a wider regional conflict, U.S. officials said...
His attitude has hardened in recent weeks, U.S. officials say, and American negotiators now believe that Hamas has no intention of reaching a deal with Israel...
A larger war that puts pressure on Israel and its military would, in Mr. Sinwar’s assessment, force them to scale back operations in Gaza, the U.S. officials said.
But so far, Hamas is feeling pretty disappointed.
In an interview in Qatar’s capital, Doha, where part of the group’s political wing is based, Dr. Basem Naim said Hamas was “disappointed by the reaction of the region, of the countries in the region.” Although some of them had supported the group politically and financially, he said Iran “was maybe the only country regarding supporting the resistance.”
It's possible Sinwar may still get his wider war. But so far it doesn't seem to be accomplishing much except wiping out Hamas' allies in the Axis of Resistance. Hassan Nasrallah and most of Hezbollah's leadership have been killed. Iran launched one large missile attack which succeeded in killing one person in the West Bank. But Israel has vowed to respond to that strike. Will this continue to escalate into the kind of regional war Sinwar wants? At the moment, American officials think the answer is no.
“Iran will hold a grudge for Nasrallah’s killing,” said Scott D. Berrier, a retired lieutenant general and the former head of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency. “But their options are limited. I don’t see Iran going toe to toe with Israel anytime soon.”
A senior U.S. official said Iran’s actions over the past few months had sent a clear message to Mr. Sinwar: “The cavalry is not coming.”
What is coming, hopefully soon, is the end of Yahya Sinwar. Israel has already come within days of finding him once. At some point his luck will run out and whatever the future holds for Gaza, he won't be around to see it.
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