Yahya Sinwar, the former leader of the Hamas militant organisation, was killed by the Israeli military in the south Gazan city of Rafah in October 2024. Given the role Sinwar played in the planning and execution of the October 7 terrorist attack, as well as his role in the development of Hamas’s military wing, his killing was seen as a possibly game-changing victory for the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But, for all sides in the conflict, debate quickly turned to the consequences of his death. Would it change the political possibilities for a resolution to the war in Gaza? And would it transform him into a powerfully symbolic martyr inspiring new generations of militants?
My research and teaching at Lancaster University develops what could be described as “war futurism”. It explores the possible futures ahead of us in times that might be shaped in dramatic and unpredictable ways by AI, climate emergencies, space wars and the technological transformation of the “cyborg” body.
