Israel fears that the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas will kill hostages to avenge the elimination of its leader Yahya Sinwar, Israeli media reported Friday.
According to N12, security consultations convened by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Kirya Army headquarters in Tel Aviv on Friday focused on efforts to prevent revenge killings of hostages. The channel said Israel had sent “very strong” warnings so that the hostages would not be harmed, but did not specify to whom or how the message was sent.
The report said it was hoped that the fact that Sinwar was killed in a random encounter with troops and not in a planned assassination could reduce Hamas terrorists’ motivation to attack the hostages.
Receive our daily edition for free by email so you don’t miss the best news. Free registration!
The elimination of Sinwar, who was seen as the main obstacle to the conclusion of the “truce for hostage release” agreement, had raised hopes that his death would make it possible to restart and advance the long-stalled talks. .
Drone footage of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar shortly before his elimination on October 16, 2024. (Courtesy)
However, Israel will likely have to wait for Hamas to find new leadership before resuming talks aimed at securing the safety of the hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza, N12 reported, citing a senior Israeli official.
Separately, CNN quoted Israeli officials as saying that Jerusalem could use the body of the terrorist leader, who is being held at a secret location in Israel, as a “bargaining chip” in the long-stalemate negotiations. .
The sources also told CNN that Israel feared that the return of the body would rally its supporters and that the site of his grave would become a shrine. Nonetheless, Israel would be willing to include his body in a hostage deal.
An Israeli official told the Times of Israel that if the terror group delays electing a new central leadership, Israel would consider striking separate deals with the disparate Hamas factions that are holding a small number of hostages.
The official warned that Muhammad Sinwar, the terrorist leader’s younger brother and possible successor, is just as intransigent as his deceased brother, whom Israel and Washington had accused of obstructing the “hostage truce” deal.
On Thursday, Netanyahu said in a video statement officially announcing Sinwar’s elimination that Israel would spare the lives of Hamas terrorists holding hostages if they laid down their weapons and freed their captives.
White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters Friday that Sinwar’s elimination was an “inflection point” in reaching a truce and hostage deal, while adding that talks had not yet been restarted.
Reporting on Netanyahu’s consultations on Friday, N12 also said Sinwar’s elimination did not alter Israel’s resolve to respond to Iran’s October 1 ballistic missile attack.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu making a video statement on the elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on October 17, 2024. (Screen capture)
Sinwar was killed during a chance encounter with Israeli troops operating in the southern Gaza Strip in Rafah on Wednesday. On Friday, Hamas confirmed the death of its leader, who was the architect of the October 7, 2023 pogrom perpetrated in southern Israel, during which some 6,000 Gazans including 3,800 terrorists led by Hamas took stormed southern Israel on October 7, killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, kidnapped 251 hostages of all ages, and committed numerous atrocities and weaponized sexual violence on a large scale, triggering the war.
Within the terrorist group’s leadership, Sinwar was seen as a supporter of Iran and reportedly sought help from the Islamic Republic and its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, to organize the barbaric assault. The Lebanese Shiite terrorist group Hezbollah began attacking Israeli border towns and military posts the day after the pogrom.
Since late September, Israel has intensified its operations against Hezbollah, virtually decimating its leaders. It was during this escalation that Iran launched its second direct attack against Israel.
