The video depicts a desperate, abandoned man trying to attack a sophisticated military drone with a wooden stick. Or perhaps it shows a defiant hero who is staring the enemy in the eye while fighting till the bitter end.

Israeli forces killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in combat on Wednesday in a surprise shootout in Rafah. The news raised some hopes among Western commentators that the killing may be an opening for an end to the ongoing war in Gaza or even to the broader Israel-Palestine conflict.

Peace talks were nowhere in sight and, despite Yahya Sinwar’s death, the violence seemed only to increase, as Israel struck northern Gaza and Hezbollah fired dozens of projectiles.