The Need to Show Death: Between Vengeance and Strategic Dilemma

By Anthony Trad, Middle East Geopolitical Analyst for LSE SU THINK TANK (also published in Le FIGARO)

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the West has been abruptly reintroduced to the sight of death and lifeless bodies. For centuries, death had been pushed out of public view. This is not the case in Eastern cultures, particularly in Muslim societies, where death remains a deeply visible and social element. The bodies of the deceased are carried to their final resting place in a simple shroud, in full view of all. In the case of Islamist martyrs, this exposure takes on an even greater significance: their bodies are not hidden, but proudly carried and displayed within their community. And when they cause casualties, they also display the bodies. One only needs to recall the horrific attacks of October 7 and the Israeli victims of Hamas, filmed in death.

The recent footage of Yahya Sinwar, Hamas leader since August 6, filmed by an Israeli drone, has made some uncomfortable while others are jubilant. For years, the media has been feeding off these shocking images, playing them on repeat and capturing our attention as if hypnotized. But what message is Israel trying to send by virally sharing the image of its trophy, Sinwar’s head blown apart, arm dangling, missing a finger? Beyond retaliating against Hamas, the aim is to definitively prove the death of enemy number one. The message is clear: “You filmed our victims in the kibbutz and at the rave party during the atrocities of October 7, we will do the same and show you the fate reserved for our adversaries.”

For Israel, this is not only a demonstration of power but also a symbolic response to Hamas’s barbaric acts. However, for Islamist groups like Hamas or Hezbollah, dying as a martyr is the ultimate achievement, the crowning glory of life. By sharing these images of Sinwar’s death, Israel may have unwittingly elevated his status as a martyr, crystallising his figure and inspiring future recruits eager to follow in his footsteps.

A Houthi supporter of Hamas holding a poster of Mr. Sinwar during a demonstration in Sanaa

By sharing these images of Sinwar's death, Israel may have unwittingly elevated his status as a martyr, crystallising his figure and inspiring future recruits eager to follow in his footsteps.

The Trap of Showcasing Death

Sinwar, like Nasrallah, follows the same pattern, no more or less than Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Daesh leader killed by U.S. special forces in Barisha, Syria, or Osama Bin Laden, eliminated by the Americans in Tora Bora, Afghanistan, joining the long list of Islamist leaders whose deaths were displayed by their enemies. Other figures from the Arab world eliminated by the West or popular vengeance confirm the obsession states have with publicly proving the deaths of their enemies. This was also the case with Muammar Gaddafi, whose mistreated body on November 20, 2011, in Sirte remains vividly remembered, as does Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi leader hanged on December 30, 2006, at Camp Justice in Baghdad. As if to pre-empt conspiracy theories ready to spring up and spread across the globe, political or military leaders now provide visual proof. Except for Bin Laden, of course, or Ismail Haniyeh, the former Hamas leader killed in Tehran last July 31. However, these images remain indelibly etched in collective memory, turning these figures into significant characters in history—whether in the grand or smaller scheme—who cannot be overlooked.

Strategic Errors in Displaying Bodies

By filming Yahya Sinwar’s death live, Israel marked its revenge after months of pursuit. Netanyahu had made his elimination a personal matter, trying to atone for his glaring political responsibility in the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023, orchestrated by Hamas and its leader. Social media quickly seized the images showing Sinwar’s final moments. Before taking his last breath, missing an arm, Sinwar, spotting the drone camera, threw a sabre toward the lens in a final gesture. This movement, far from being seen as a weakness, strengthens his image as a determined fighter. This theatrical, almost calculated gesture appears to be a visual declaration of martyrdom, fully aware that these images would quickly circulate worldwide. By broadcasting these images, Israel offered Sinwar the aura of a fighter, reinforcing the myth of resistance and feeding into a martyrdom dynamic that his enemies will turn into a recruitment tool.

Oddly, for months, it was known that the Hamas leader was holed up deep in tunnels constructed by Hamas fighters. Many rumours circulated, particularly about the difficulty for the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) to find and eliminate him due to reports that he slept surrounded by hostages with a baby on his chest—serving as human shields. In reality, it is highly likely that Sinwar deliberately chose to make himself visible, accompanied by only two bodyguards, without hostages or protection, not out of recklessness, but by design. Aware of his impending end, he probably anticipated that Israel would broadcast images or proof of his death, given his role as Hamas leader. By presenting himself with his keffiyeh over his face, like a simple soldier of God, devoid of any protection, Sinwar carefully shaped his own posthumous narrative. He built the image of a martyr fallen alongside his men, an ordinary fighter dying in battle. This possibly calculated staging gave him a strategic edge over Netanyahu, ensuring that his image would resonate as that of a hero of resistance, while Israel believed it was signing its own triumph. In the long term, it may be that he, after all, has won the ideological and media battle.