For one Gazan father, Yahya Sinwar’s death in battle trying to beat back a drone with a stick was “how heroes die.” For others, it was an example for future generations even as some lamented the ruinous cost of the war he sparked with Israel.

Sinwar, the architect of Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza, was killed Wednesday by Israeli forces after a year-long manhunt, and his death was announced on Thursday.

A video of some of his final minutes, showing him masked and wounded in a shell-smashed apartment trying to hurl a stick at a drone filming him inspired pride among Palestinians.

“He died a hero, attacking not fleeing, clutching his rifle, and engaging against the occupation army at the front line,” a Hamas statement mourning Sinwar’s death said.

In the statement, Hamas vowed his death would only strengthen the terror group, adding that it wouldn’t compromise on conditions to reach a ceasefire-hostage deal with Israel.

“He died wearing a military vest, fighting with a rifle and grenades, and when he was wounded and was bleeding he fought with a stick. This is how heroes die,” said Adel Rajab, 60, a father of two in Gaza.

“I have watched the video 30 times since last night, there is no better way to die,” said Ali, a 30-year-old taxi driver in Gaza.

“I will make this video a daily duty to watch for my sons, and my grandsons in the future,” said the father of two.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, Sinwar was with two other terror operatives when they were spotted Wednesday night in Rafah’s Tel Sultan neighborhood by Israeli forces, who fired at the trio and injured them. Two headed into one building, and the third, who it only later emerged was Sinwar, went into another, the military said. IDF tanks and other forces then opened fire on both buildings.

Sinwar then went up to the second floor. A tank fired another shell at the building, and an infantry platoon moved up to search it. Sinwar threw two grenades, one of which exploded. The soldiers withdrew, and a drone flew in to search the room. It found a man with his arm injured and his face covered — Sinwar — who threw the wooden stick at the drone.

His death came just over a year after the October 7 attack on southern Israel that he masterminded, in which Palestinian terrorists killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, with 251 dragged back to Gaza as hostages.

The war sparked by the attack has devastated Gaza, killing more than 42,000 Palestinians, according to unverifiable figures from the Hamas-run health ministry, which do not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed some 17,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7, 2023.

Sinwar’s own words in previous speeches, saying he would rather die at Israel’s hands than from a heart attack or car accident, have been repeatedly shared by Palestinians online.

“The best gift the enemy and the occupation can offer me is to assassinate me and that I go as a martyr at their hands,” he had said.

Now some Palestinians are wondering whether Israel will regret allowing the fulfillment of that wish to be broadcast as a potential recruiting tool for an organization it has sworn to destroy.

“They said he was hiding inside the tunnels. They said he was keeping Israeli prisoners next to him to save his life. Yesterday we saw that he was hunting down Israeli soldiers in Rafah, where the occupation has been operating since May,” said Rasha, a displaced 42-year-old mother of four children.

The IDF recently found Sinwar’s DNA some weeks ago in a Rafah tunnel which was in the same complex as — but a few hundred meters from — a separate tunnel where six Israeli hostages were murdered in late August, but were not able to pin down when he was there.

“This is how leaders go, with a rifle in the hand. I supported Sinwar as a leader and today I am proud of him as a martyr,” added Rasha.

A poll in September showed a majority of Gazans thought the October 7 attack was the wrong decision and a growing number of Palestinians have questioned Sinwar’s willingness to launch a war that has caused them so much suffering.

Rajab, who praised Sinwar’s death as heroic, said he had not supported the October 7 attacks, believing Palestinians were not prepared for all-out war with Israel. But he said the manner of his death “made me proud as a Palestinian.”

In both Gaza and the West Bank, where Hamas also has significant support and where fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian terror operatives has increased over the past year, people wondered whether Sinwar’s death would hasten the war’s end.

In Hebron, a flashpoint West Bank city, Ala’a Hashalmoon said killing Sinwar would not mean a more conciliatory leader. “What I can figure out is that whoever dies, there is someone who replaces him (who) is more stubborn,” he said.

And in Ramallah, Murad Omar, 54, said little would change on the ground. “The war will continue and it seems it won’t end soon,” he said.