The killing of Hamas leader Yahya
Sinwar is raising new questions over the course of the war and the fate of
hostages still held by Hamas. While the United States is pressing both the sides
to seize the opportunity to end the fighting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
seems adamant at continuing the genocide.
Sinwar was considered the main obstacle in
achieving a cease-fire and hostage deal over the course of a year of
negotiations, Netanyahu has also been criticized as moving the goal posts in
talks and prioritizing the military operation to eliminate Hamas over diplomacy
to release hostages.
US President Biden and Vice
President Kamala the Democratic presidential nominee, said in reaction to
Sinwar’s killing that there is now an opportunity for a “day after” in Gaza
without Hamas in power.
“This moment gives us an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza,
and it must end such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the
suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to
dignity, security, freedom and self-determination,” Kamala said in remarks from
Wisconsin.
Netanyahu, in a recorded speech confirming
Sinwar’s death, showed no signs of letting up Israel’s military operations,
which have succeeded in devastating Hamas’s leadership and military
capabilities, while also devastating the Strip, causing a mass humanitarian
crisis, and resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians.
“Now it is clear to everyone in Israel and
the world why we insisted on not ending the war, why we persisted in the face
of all pressure,” Netanyahu said.
“The war is not over yet and it is hard and
it is exacting a heavy price from us. Citizens of Israel, we are in the war of
resurrection, great challenges are still ahead of us … together we will fight
and with God’s help together we will win.”
In his remarks, Netanyahu said Israel would
give amnesty to anyone who willingly releases remaining hostages — Hamas or
other armed groups in Gaza like Palestinian Islamic Jihad and civilian
families.
“I call on everyone who holds our hostages:
Whoever lays down his weapon and returns our hostages — we will allow him to go
out and live.”
He added that the return of hostages would
bring “the end of the war closer.”
Biden congratulated Netanyahu on the killing in a call from Air Force
One as he traveled to Germany.
The White House said the two leaders agreed
there is an opportunity to advance the release of the hostages “and to bring
the war to a close with Israel’s security assured and Hamas never again able to
control Gaza.”
Netanyahu’s office, in their description of
the call, did not address ending the war, but focused on advancing the release
of hostages.
US Secretary of State Antony
Blinken made calls Thursday to his counterparts in Qatar and Saudi Arabia
as part of the administration’s push to “redouble its efforts” to end the
conflict and secure the release of hostages, the State Department said.
Now there’s a question, who will speak for
Hamas? Khaled Meshaal, a senior Palestinian political official in exile in
Qatar, is one name being raised as a possible replacement.
In an interview marking one year since Hamas’s attack,
Meshaal said the armed group will “rise like a phoenix” even if its military
and leadership are devastated.
“We don’t know who will be on the other end
of the negotiating table now, but it certainly won’t be Sinwar,” State
Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
Even Netanyahu’s opponents in Israel are signaling
support for continuing the war against Hamas and an ongoing Israeli military
presence in the Strip.
Benny Gantz, chair of the National
Unity Party who resigned from Netanyahu’s wartime Cabinet, said in a
statement that the Israeli military “will have to continue operating in
Gaza for years,” although he added that “this moment must be seized and
leveraged to bring the hostages home and topple the Hamas regime.”
“Sinwar, who was described as a major
obstacle to a deal, is no longer alive. It is critical that all attention is
now focused on achieving the goal of a deal which will secure the release of
our son Omer and the rest of the hostages,” the Neutras said in a
statement.
“We’re calling on the Israeli government
and the US administration to act swiftly and do whatever is needed to reach a
deal with the captors. We are at an inflection point where the goals set for
the war with Gaza have been achieved, all but the release of the hostages.”
Members of the US Congress also reacted to
Sinwar’s death with support for the revival of cease-fire and hostage release
talks.
“It is my hope that Sinwar’s elimination
will result in further progress toward the release of all hostages still held
in Gaza, as well as to a cease-fire for Palestinians who have suffered under
Hamas’s grip for far too long,” said Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), chair
of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), a
member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he hopes Sinwar’s death
“marks a turning point in this war.”
“Let us all unite in praying that, at last,
the door will open to the end of this terrible war, the remaining hostages will
be released, the recovery in Gaza will begin, and the efforts toward securing
peace will be renewed.”
