What does Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind behind Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, believe about Hamas’ war against Israel that others have failed to grasp?
Answer: That time appears to be on Hamas’ side.
Sinwar is confident that Hamas will prevail over Israel and remain in power the day after the war has ended despite the fact that Reuters recently reported that Hamas “has been reduced to between 9,000 and 12,000 fighters. . . down from American estimates of 20,000-25,000 before the conflict.” Is Sinwar unnerved by Hamas’ forces shrinking by 50% because of the superiority of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)? Not at all. The Jerusalem Post reported that Sinwar has boasted to Hamas leaders in Qatar, saying, “We have the Israelis where we want them.”
Sinwar’s comments reveal a man who is not delusional but is committed to an antisemitic, genocidal ideology; the destruction of Israel and the annihilation of the Jews at any cost, even if it means Hamas has to “go it alone.” Last December, when Hamas officials met with the leaders of other terrorist groups to debate reconciliation after the war, Sinwar objected to their efforts and labelled such dialogue as “shameful and outrageous.” Sinwar then exhorted his comrades, saying, “As long as fighters are still standing and we have not lost the war, such contacts should be immediately terminated. . . We have the capabilities to continue fighting for months.”
But it is one thing to be willing to “go it alone” in order to achieve one’s objective. Sinwar is not only willing to “go it alone,” he is willing to use innocent civilian lives to realize his goal. For Sinwar, civilian casualties are the means by which Hamas will obtain its end (i.e., “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free”). In another message to Hamas leaders, Sinwar callously commented that Palestinian civilian casualties are “necessary sacrifices.” And when Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s three sons were killed by an Israeli Air Force strike in Gaza this last April, Sinwar enthusiastically declared that their deaths and the deaths of other Palestinians would “infuse life into the veins of this nation, prompting it to rise to its glory and honor.”
Please keep in mind that a little more than eight months after October 7th, it has been reported by the Gaza Health Ministry (GHM) that over 37,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza. Now, we do not know that exact number of civilian versus terrorist deaths during that period because the GHM does not distinguish between civilian and Hamas terrorist deaths (Associated Press). And it is also difficult to discern whether an adult or a child has died because the GHM counts an 18-year-old Hamas terrorist as a “child” in their statistics.
But back to Sinwar. How can Sinwar be so resolute when it comes to achieving his goal, to destroy Israel and remove the Jewish people from the face of the earth? Again, what does Yahya Sinwar know about Hamas’ war against Israel that others have failed to comprehend?
Answer: When he reads the news headlines, Sinwar believes time is on Hamas’ side. And it is easy to see why he would come to that conclusion.
First, it is clear that antisemitism is alive and thriving throughout the world. Immediately after the horrific events of October 7th, when Hamas terrorist murdered 1,200 people, raped women and young girls, beheaded babies and burned infants alive, and took approximately 250 people hostage, many global leaders voiced their support for Israel and its right to defend itself against Hamas. But support for Israel was short-lived and the narrative quickly shifted in favor of Hamas when Israel went on the offensive and seized northern Gaza. Suddenly there were protests against Israel in major cities around the world and on U.S. college campuses.
As Israel seized more control of Gaza, the protests grew more intense. The United Nations, which is no friend of Israel, began to level accusation after accusation against Israel. And it came as no surprise when the likes of Brazil, Russia, and South Africa, members of the BRICS coalition of nations, along with Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan began to chime in and call for a ceasefire while also claiming that Israel has no right to defend itself and that its leaders are committing war crimes. Nor was anyone shocked when Iran, the largest state-sponsor of terrorism and puppeteer of Hamas, threatened to annihilate Israel if it did not end its war with Hamas.
But when Ireland, Spain, Norway, and Slovenia unilaterally recognized a Palestinian state and Spain subsequently requested to join South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in order to accuse Israel of genocide, the pressure against Israel intensified dramatically. Then shortly thereafter, Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC), equated Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant with Hamas’ Sinwar, Haniyeh, and Mohammed Deif and accused Netanyahu and Gallant of “causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies, deliberately targeting civilians in conflict” (The Times of Israel). Khan then applied for arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Gallant, Sinwar, Haniyeh, and Deif.
Now, arrest warrants for Sinwar, Haniyeh, and Deif make sense. Truly, they have committed crimes against humanity both in Israel and in Gaza. But Netanyahu? Gallant? Really?
Back to Sinwar. Do you think for one moment that Sinwar felt threatened by Khan’s arrest warrant request? Not at all. I am sure that when Sinwar read those headlines from his Gazan tunnel, he smiled with satisfaction as he thought to himself, “Time is on Hamas’ side.”
Second, as I wrote in my article last week, Palestinians’ support for Hamas remains strong. The polling numbers say it all, “67% of the Palestinians polled still believe that Hamas made the ‘correct decision’ when its terrorists launched a barbaric attack against Israel on October 7th.” These are strong numbers when one considers that 80% of those surveyed living in Gaza claim a family member has died or has been injured since October 7th. And get this, “61% still prefer that Hamas remains in control of the Gaza Strip” while “75% are satisfied with Hamas’ performance during the war and 65% are pleased with the performance of its diabolical ringleader, Yahya Sinwar.” What is also revealing about the survey results is that 65% of the Palestinians polled are opposed to a Two-State Solution. Why? Because the Palestinians want a One-State Solution, meaning a world without Israel. Clearly, the Palestinians still support Hamas and Sinwar even though he has commanded Hamas terrorists to use civilians as human shields, women, children, and elderly alike. What does Sinwar think when he hears the news about the polling numbers from Gaza and the West Bank? “Time is on Hamas’ side!”
While there appears to be unified support for Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the same cannot be said for Netanyahu and his government in Israel. Prior to October 7th, liberal, progressive groups protested against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempts to reform the Supreme Court even though he was voted into office to do so (Reuters). But it did not stop there. Soon more than 100 “Reservist officers and soldiers of the Military Intelligence’s Special Operations Division came out strongly against the coalition’s planned judicial overhaul. . . warning in an open letter that they would stop showing up for duty should the government move ahead with its plans” (The Times of Israel). But it did not stop there. The media was against Israel’s duly-elected government. The business and financial sectors were against Netanyahu and his coalition in the Knesset as well.
Then October 7th happened and everything changed because suddenly all parties realized they were facing an existential threat. If Israel did not unite, Israel may cease to exist. But eight months later, Israel is looking more like the Israel of old, before October 7th. There have been threats, resignations, and protests. While division festers, tragically, many hostages have died in captivity with recent reports calculating that only 50 hostages are still alive. What does Sinwar think when he reads such headlines while fleeing to another tunnel location under the Gaza Strip? “Time is on Hamas’ side!”
Finally, there is Israel’s tension-riddled relationship with the United States. Historically, the U.S. has been Israel’s greatest ally in the world and Israel has been the U.S.’s greatest ally in the Middle East. Yet, prior to October 7th, President Biden joined the throng of those who were publicly chastising Netanyahu for attempting to reform Israel’s Supreme Court (CNN). But after October 7th, Biden committed the U.S. to supporting Israel as Israel sought to defeat Hamas. And while there has been times when the Biden administration has appeared to support Israel without reservation, Biden has been under pressure to please his base during this presidential election year, a base that is clearly anti-Israel and antisemitic. Recent reporting reveals that Biden is frustrated with Netanyahu because Netanyahu is not obeying the dictates of the White House like a good Israeli Prime Minister should.
Tensions reached a new level this week when Netanyahu posted a video accusing the U.S. of withholding weapons and ammunitions from Israel (Breitbart). Netanyahu’s video and Biden’s response prompted Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark) to ask the “White House to come clean about the status of U.S. arms shipments to Israel and to detail what has been paused in recent months” (World Israel News).
What does Sinwar sing from his Gazan tunnel as he reflects upon the divide he helped to orchestrate between the U.S. and Israel? “Time is on my. . . I mean. . . Hamas’ side. . . yes it is!”
When we look at the rise and prevalence of antisemitism around the world, Sinwar is justified in concluding that Hamas is winning the war against Israel on the narrative front. The longer Sinwar holds onto the hostages and makes it look like Hamas is willing to strike a deal with Israel, the greater the pressure will be on Israel to concede to Hamas’ demands.
Why is this so? Because there are two sets of rules, one for Israel and one for Hamas and the rest of the world. And because there are also two sets of standards, one for Israel and one for Hamas and the rest of the world. You see, the world really does not want Israel to defeat Hamas. The world just wants to control Israel until the time comes for the antichrist to annihilate Israel (Daniel 9:27).
Yet, Sinwar has failed to understand a very important principle found within the pages of Scripture; while Sinwar may believe that time is on Hamas’ side, God is on Israel’s side. The God of Israel is not done with Israel (Romans 11:25-36). He has a plan to restore Israel to Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ. He promised King David that his Son, Israel’s Messiah, would reign on the throne of David forever (2 Samuel 7:13). So, God is using these events, even Israel’s enemies and friends, to prepare Israel for the return of her Savior, Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:15-31). Jesus Christ will return at the end of the Great Tribulation to defeat the antichrist, the false prophet, along with Satan and his minions and reign on the throne of David for one thousand years (Revelation 20:1-10).
Back to Sinwar. None of us knows how much time we have left on this side of heaven, not even Sinwar. But one thing is certain, time isn’t on anyone’s side. Each of us will stand before Jesus Christ one day and give an account for our answer to the most important question ever asked, “Who do you say Jesus is?” (Hebrews 9:27-28; Matthew 16:15-17). Those who have rejected Jesus Christ will be rejected by Jesus Christ and suffer an eternity in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15). Those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ and confessed Him as their Savior will receive the forgiveness of their sins and the gift of eternal life (Romans 10:8-13). Before that day comes, I pray that all of Israel, her friends and enemies alike, including Sinwar, will ask Jesus Christ to be their Savior (John 3:16).
Will you please join me in praying for Israel and her people at this critical time?
by Dr. Matthew Dodd | June 21, 2024