“I think it’s a chance that won’t present itself again,” Daniel Lifshitz, the grandson of hostage Oded Lifshitz, 84, told JNS on Thursday in reference to Hamas terrorist chief Yahya Sinwar’s killing.
IDF soldiers killed Sinwar in a firefight in the southern Gazan city of Rafah on Wednesday.
“Everyone should be happy with regards to his death. He is responsible for putting the region in flames. So many people died from what happened on Oct. 7, so many people were hurt by what he did,” continued Lifshitz.
“It’s an opportunity to make a deal, and world leaders must have a conversation on how to bring about it as the groundwork has been laid,” he added.
“Sinwar is dead and that is a great victory, but total victory means bringing back the hostages, having a ceasefire in Gaza and changing this awful situation,” said Lifshitz.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum likewise commended the security forces for killing Sinwar, “who masterminded the greatest massacre our country has ever faced, responsible for the murder of thousands and the abduction of hundreds.”
The statement expressed, however, “deep concern for the fate of the 101 men, women, elderly and children still held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
“We call on the Israeli government, world leaders, and mediating countries to leverage the military achievement into a diplomatic one by pursuing an immediate agreement for the release of all 101 hostages: the living for rehabilitation and the murdered for proper burial,” said the forum.
During a meeting on Monday with the families of Israelis hostage in Gaza, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Hamas had hardened its stance and negotiations had reached a stalemate.
“I hope we reach something, but right now there is no lead,” Gallant told the families. Furthermore, “The Americans are not really on this,” he said.
Yael Adar, whose son Tamir, 38, was declared dead in captivity in January, told JNS on Thursday, “I’m trying to be fine. I was glad to receive the news. Sinwar was responsible for Oct. 7, the murder of my son and 1,200 people.
“It’s the end that he deserved. I am a little afraid of what is going to happen and with whom we will be negotiating. But I do think this is a good opportunity to change the current reality. It’s a good chance to bring about the real victory with all 101 hostages back home. We are at a crossroad,” she added.
“Despite what happened on Oct. 7, our army is smart, strong. The IDF does good for the world and not just for Israel,” Adar continued. “We went to war because of the hostages, we wanted Sinwar dead and he paid the price. Now the hostages must come back. It started with them. Without them it’s not worth anything. Without the hostages, it’s not victory,” she said.
On Sunday, Shine Bet (Israel Security Agency) Director Ronen Bar paid a secret visit to Cairo, meeting with Egypt’s intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Kamal. It marked the first visit by a senior Israeli official to Egypt since Aug. 22.
Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, Jerusalem’s point man on the abductee issue, said this week, “Moves related to negotiations are taking place constantly. The problem is the time it is taking.”
He added, “We are still unable to get to effective negotiations with Hamas, which torpedoes talks all the time.”
Zvika Mor, co-founder of the Tikva Forum for Families of Hostages, whose son Eitan, then 23-years-old, now aged 24, was abducted by Hamas from the Supernova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023, expressed satisfaction over Sinwar’s killing and urged the government to continue pressuring the terrorists in Gaza.
“My family and I are very happy first because our great enemy of this generation is dead. We killed him, we think that now we have a great opportunity for a hostage deal because the other terrorists will see that their leader is down,” Mor told JNS.
“To the Israeli forces, I say, keep fighting, this is the best course of action for the hostages to be released,” he added.
Shlomi Berger, the father of Hamas captive Agam Berger, told JNS on Thursday, “Sinwar is the man that is responsible for murdering so many Israeli people and while I cannot be happy in my situation, justice has been served,”
“For me and all the people of Israel, it is not a day for celebration. We will only celebrate when all the hostages will be home. The real victory of the Israeli people will happen once all the hostages will come back home,” he continued.
“I hope that this development will have a positive impact on a situation that has been stuck for a while. We just finished the first days of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. I was praying all day and crying for something to happen, I hope God heard me,” Berger said.