The Will of the Martyred Heroic Commander Yahya Sinwar
I am Yahya, the son of a refugee who transformed exile into a temporary homeland and turned dreams into an eternal struggle. As I write these words, I recall every moment of my life: from my childhood in the alleyways, through the long years of imprisonment, to every drop of blood spilled on this land.
I was born in Khan Younis refugee camp in 1962, at a time when Palestine was a torn memory and forgotten maps on politicians’ tables. My life has been woven between fire and ashes, and early on I realized that life under occupation means nothing but perpetual imprisonment.
I knew from a young age that life in this land is not ordinary, and that those born here must carry in their hearts an unbreakable weapon, understanding that the path to freedom is long. My will to you starts here, from the child who threw the first stone at the occupier, who learned that stones are the first words we utter in the face of a world that remains silent before our wounds.
I learned in the streets of Gaza that a person is not measured by the years of their life, but by what they offer to their homeland. Thus has my life been: prisons and battles, pain and hope.
I was imprisoned for the first time in 1988 and sentenced to life imprisonment, but I never knew fear. In those dark cells, I saw in every wall a window to the distant horizon, and in every bar a light illuminating the path to freedom.
In prison, I learned that patience is not just a virtue, but a weapon—a bitter weapon, like drinking the sea drop by drop. My will to you: do not fear the prisons, they are merely part of our long journey to freedom. Prison taught me that freedom is not just a stolen right, but an idea born from pain and shaped by patience.
When I was released in the “Shalit Deal” in 2011, I did not emerge as I once was; I emerged stronger, with a deeper belief that what we do is not merely a fleeting struggle but our destiny, which we carry until the last drop of our blood.
My will is that you remain steadfast with the rifle, with the dignity that cannot be compromised, and with the dream that never dies. The enemy wants us to abandon resistance, to turn our cause into endless negotiations. But I tell you: do not negotiate over what is your right. They fear your steadfastness more than your weapons. Resistance is not just a weapon we carry, but our love for Palestine in every breath we take, our will to remain, despite the siege and aggression.
My will is to remain loyal to the blood of the martyrs, to those who left us this thorny path. They paved the way to freedom with their blood, so do not squander those sacrifices on the calculations of politicians and diplomatic games.
We are here to continue what our predecessors began, and we will not deviate from this path, no matter the cost. Gaza has been and will remain the capital of steadfastness, the heart of Palestine that never stops beating, even if the earth tightens around us.
When I took over the leadership of Hamas in Gaza in 2017, it was not just a transfer of power, but the continuation of a resistance that began with stones and continued with rifles. Every day, I felt the pain of my people under siege, knowing that every step we take towards freedom comes at a price. But I tell you: the price of surrender is far greater. Therefore, hold onto the land as the roots hold onto the soil, for no wind can uproot a people who have chosen to live.
In the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood, I was not just the leader of a group or movement; I was the voice of every Palestinian who dreams of liberation. My faith led me to believe that resistance is not just an option, but a duty. I wanted this battle to be a new chapter in the Palestinian struggle, where factions unite, and all stand in one trench against the enemy who never differentiates between a child and an elder, or between a stone and a tree.
Al-Aqsa Flood was a battle of spirits before bodies, of willpower before arms.