‘He’s still alive' vs. 'died courageously': The battle for Sinwar's death narrative begins

As Israel formally announced the assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, online reactions to the news began to accumulate, ranging between praise to disbelief and rejection, with some trying to build a narrative of a courageous death rather than a fleeing attempt.

Glorification and praise

One notable trend was an endeavor to glorify Sinwar’s death in an attempt to cloak his assassination with an aura of majesty. Many of these attempts focused on the fact that Sinwar was killed in a building and not in a tunnel, a fact used by many to portray him as “fighting in the front with his soldiers and dying during armed clashes with the enemy.” One pro-Hamas commenter named Nawras wrote, “Military quiver, ground engagement, and martyrdom. Just as he wanted. Martyrdom of leader Yahya Sinwar after clashing with enemies of God in Rafah.”

Hafid Derradji, a popular Algerian journalist with almost 3.5 million followers, tweeted: “If the news of the martyrdom of the leader Yahya Sinwar is true, then congratulations to him for the martyrdom that only the honorable attain. If it is not so, then we ask God to prolong his life and grant him martyrdom. We always remember the men’s saying: ‘When a master is absent, a master rises. The resistance is not diminished by the martyr who departs,’ because all of our people are potential martyrs. Welcome to God’s will and destiny.”

One anonymous blogger tweeted a viral post that reached hundreds of thousands of users, adding: “News about the martyrdom of Yahya Sinwar, Allah willing, in a clash with the Israeli army. If this news is true, then it is enough honor for him that he butted heads with the enemy and did not hide in a tunnel as was the case with the deceased Hassan Nasrallah.”

Another user praised Sinwar for being a “martyr,” adding, “Sinwar won, by the Lord of the Kaaba, and Allah fulfilled his wish to die a martyr...Another Sinwar will appear, and another...until Palestine is liberated...The fighter expects to be killed at any moment...so what about the one who wishes for the death of a martyr? The news of the martyrdom of the leader saddened us, and the loss was made easier for us by the fact that he was martyred as a fighter with his weapon.”

One user added: “Allahu Akbar. If Yahya Sinwar is alive, he will remain the symbolic leader, the hero who fights in the field with the heroic mujahideen (religious fighters). And if he is killed, God will increase his honor with martyrdom, so that he may be killed as a martyr in the trench of battle, not in hotels abroad or hiding in tunnels. He was martyred on the battlefield, defending Islam, land, and honor.”

Another user tweeted: “No Zionist will ever be able to stand and be proud of assassinating Yahya Sinwar. Today, Israel has failed to assassinate him forever. Abu Ibrahim was one step ahead of them, even in his death. He was martyred in a clash on the front!”

Disbelief and rejection

Some replied with disbelief to the news of Sinwar’s death, with Hamas-affiliated outlets warning users against believing the news.

Hamas-affiliated outlet Gaza Now posted: “Warning, the news that spoke about the assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is completely false, and the occupation’s publication and circulation of this news is an attempt to collect intelligence information, and it did previously with leader Muhammad al-Deif. Please be careful.”

Another user posted: “Sinwar is alive, God willing, unless Hamas issues a statement about his martyrdom.”

Yet another posted the photo of a person resembling Sinwar and was arrested by the IDF in Gaza several months ago, adding: “Focus, guys. Everyone in the pictures here looks like Sinwar, and it’s natural that all Palestinians look like Sinwar because he’s Palestinian, not Russian. In any case, the resistance has previously said that it is the only one that announces the martyrdom of its leaders. Wait,”

Celebrations and exhilaration

Adhwan Al-Ahmari, a journalist at Independent Arabia, wrote, “Nasrallah is finished, Sinwar followed him after they left Beirut, and Gaza destroyed and caused the displacement of hundreds of thousands and left them homeless. Iran was paying the salaries, and it was the one who gave the orders. There was no destruction in Tehran, but the destructive tools exploited the name of Jerusalem, so the Golan and northern Gaza were lost. Palestine was not liberated, and no state was established.”

Some users referred to older videos circulating of Gazans cursing Sinwar. A blogger named Zahran added, “Our joy at the death of Sinwar is due to religious, humanitarian, and moral motives, thank Allah. I congratulate this bereaved woman (in the video) and millions of other victims. May God curse all the (Muslim) Brotherhood, living and dead.”

Likewise, a Saudi user, showing another video of a woman slamming Sinwar, wrote, “Tell this honorable Palestinian old woman that the head of the treasonous (Muslim) Brotherhood movement Hamas, the Zoroastrian Brotherhood member, the impure Yahya Al-Sinwar, has been annihilated, and the (Iranian) agent has gone to the dustbin of history.”

A third Saudi user named Abdullah wrote, “I ask you by God, O people of Gaza: Tell her, Tell her, Tell her. Give this poor bereaved woman the good news that Allah has taken revenge for her on the rat Yahya Sinwar.”

Amjad Taha, an Emirati peace activist and blogger, added, “Congratulations to humanity on the death of the terrorist, rapist of women, kidnapper of children, and despicable Yahya Sinwar. To hell and a miserable fate.”

Khaled Bin Thani, another Emirati writer, wrote, “I do not rejoice at the killing of anyone, whether Sinwar, Nasrallah, Haniyeh, or others. Rather, I feel sorry for them because they lived deceived by an illusion, like millions of Arab and Muslim people. They are the sons of this environment. The only difference between them and these millions is that they have found the opportunity for leadership and command with the temptations of money and power.”

Likewise, another Saudi user named Abdullatif tweeted: “Our joy today is very great with the death of Sinwar. Congratulations to every Arab and Muslim in the East and West of the Earth.”

Hani Mashour, also from the Gulf, added, “We congratulate the people of Gaza and the beloved people of Palestine on getting rid of Yahya Sinwar.”

Likewise, Lebanese blogger Raymond Hakim wrote, “He for whom Lebanon was destroyed has died.”

Finally, another user posted an infographic reading: “He is not a martyr and not a hero. He carried out the idiotic October 7 on Iran’s orders and went to hide under the houses of the innocent so that they would suffer the consequences. He died while running away, hiding, like a foreign agent who carried out Iran’s agenda at the expense of Gaza’s innocent. He died and decomposed after the escape of all of his companions. He led to the death of over 50,000 martyrs.”