Gaza Chief Bets Civilian Bloodshed Will Help Hamas

“For months, Yahya Sinwar has resisted pressure to cut a ceasefire-and-hostages deal with Israel,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Behind his decision, messages the Hamas military leader in Gaza has sent to mediators show, is a calculation that more fighting—and more Palestinian civilian deaths—work to his advantage.”

“For much of Sinwar’s political life, shaped by bloody conflict with an Israeli state that he says has no right to exist, he has stuck to a simple playbook. Backed into a corner, he looks to violence for a way out. The current fight in Gaza is no exception.”