From the Liveblog of
Thursday, October 17, 2024
Cousin of slain hostage calls on Israeli, world leaders to leverage Sinwar’s death to strike a deal
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
The cousin of murdered hostage Carmel Gat, Gil Dickmann, calls on the Israeli government and world leaders to leverage the achievement of eliminating Hamas terrorist leader Yahya Sinwar and negotiate the immediate release of the remaining 101 hostages.
Speaking during a Thursday night press conference, Dickmann says the families of the six hostages executed in Gaza at the end of August — Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, Almog Sarusi and Alex Lobanov — had concerns that their loved ones were being held underground with Sinwar, but didn’t know for sure until Sinwar’s death was announced Thursday.
“We don’t know if he pulled the trigger, or ordered their deaths, it’s devastating to us and shows how close we were to getting them out,” says Dickmann. “We don’t know for how long they were held together or with Sinwar or the conversations they were having. Now all six are gone and so is Sinwar, but when the six were murdered we said we don’t know who murdered them and don’t care about revenge, we care only about bringing back the 101 hostages.”
The death of Sinwar marks the day when a major obstacle was removed, says Daniel Lifshitz, grandson of hostage Oded Lifshitz from Kibbutz Nir Oz, speaking about his grandfather, the only great-grandfather among the remaining 101 hostages.
“Today is the day to call for the end of war and release of the hostages,” says Lifshitz. “It’s an opportunity that might not happen again,” calling for a reprisal of US President Joe Biden’s proposed one-phase agreement to bring home all remaining hostages, alive and dead.
Yael Adar, mother of Tamir Adar, a 38-year-old husband and father taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz, murdered in Gaza and with his body still in captivity, calls Sinwar’s death “justice.”
“We are glad for this military success but very worried about our hostages,’ says Adar. “We ask the Israeli government and world leaders and mediators to find a way to bring all the hostages right away. Tamir needs to be buried with dignity.”
