Sinwar killing seen detrimental to truce

Israel's announcement of the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and declaring it as "the beginning of the end" will hardly bring peace to Gaza and Lebanon, or end the suffering of people in the Palestinian enclave, analysts said, pointing out that US-backed Israeli assassination campaigns have been a hindrance to achieving a cease-fire so far.

They further noted that Israel was offering a "distraction" amid its attempts to "entirely depopulate Gaza of its indigenous inhabitants", while the Joe Biden administration — which called Sinwar's death a "good day" for the world — is looking to score political gains from developments in the Middle East for the US presidential election.

The Israel Defense Forces, or IDF, confirmed eliminating Sinwar in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday. A top Hamas political official on Friday confirmed the death of Sinwar.

In a video message posted on X, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "It's the beginning of the end." He added: "This war can end tomorrow. It can end if Hamas lays down its arms and returns our hostages."

Leaders of the United States, Britain, Germany and France have welcomed the news. Biden, in his statement, referred to Sinwar as an "obstacle" to political settlements and credited US intelligence for helping the IDF track Hamas leaders.

The latest Israeli military maneuvers come at a time when US media outlets have reported that US presidential candidate and current Vice-President Kamala Harris is losing ground in some domestic polls ahead of the US elections.

"I don't think we are on the eve, or we are close to a political deal. Maybe the US wants this (ceasefire) deal now before the election as a matter of publicity and marketing on its efforts in the region," Ayman Yousef, a professor of international relations at the Arab American University in Jenin, West Bank, told China Daily.

While the US and its allies view Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon as "terrorist organizations", many Palestinians view the groups as resistance leaders against Israeli occupation that enjoys US support.

Iran's mission to the United Nations said the killing of Sinwar would lead to the strengthening of "resistance" in the region, while Lebanon's Hezbollah declared a "transition to a new and escalatory phase" in the conflict.

In September, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution that demanded Israel end its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory, but to this day the resolution continues to be ignored, also with the backing of the US.

China has noted relevant reports on Israel's killing of Sinwar, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Friday, stressing that the pressing priority is to immediately reach a cease-fire in Gaza, earnestly protect civilians, ensure the humanitarian aid and avoid further escalating the conflict and confrontation.

In response to a question of whether Sinwar's death would affect the Beijing Declaration signed by 14 Palestinian factions to promote intra-Palestine reconciliation, Mao told the daily news briefing that no matter how the situation evolves, Palestinian factions must strengthen solidarity.

Call for solidarity

The international community should provide support for this, she said, adding that China stands ready to work with all parties to continue working relentlessly to this end.

Phyllis Bennis, a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and international adviser to Jewish Voice for Peace, told Al Jazeera that the killing of Sinwar would not lead to a cease-fire in Gaza. "The words of Biden or Secretary of State Antony Blinken "don't matter if their actions don't change, and if the actions continue to be sending Israel all of the weapons that they require to enable this war, this genocide to continue," Bennis said.

Farhan Mujahid Chak, visiting faculty at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington DC, told China Daily that contrary to what Israel and the US have been claiming, the assassination of Sinwar would make "no difference to bringing us closer to peace or negotiations".

This is just meant for distraction to prolong what is an attempt to entirely depopulate Gaza of its indigenous inhabitants, he said.

Zhou Jin in Beijing and Mike Gu in Hong Kong contributed to this story.