Gantz: Sinwar’s death important, but it’s not end of the war; IDF will continue operating in Gaza for years to come
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s death is an “important achievement” but it does not mark the end of the war, National Unity chief and former war cabinet minister Benny Gantz declares.
The IDF “will continue to operate in the Gaza Strip for years to come” and Israel must leverage recent achievements, including the death of Sinwar, “to bring about the return of the hostages and the replacement of Hamas’ rule.”
“On this day, we must also remember the painful price of the war — all the murdered and the fallen,” he says, offering his support to Israel’s soldiers “who have been working for over a year on all fronts to ensure this never happens again.”
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid welcomes the death of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, calling him “one of the world’s worst terrorists” and comparing him to the leaders of Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
Sinwar “dedicated his life to an evil ideology of hatred and death. He was the embodiment of evil,” Lapid tweets. “His name belongs alongside [Osama] Bin Laden and [Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim Ali] al-Baghdadi for the terror and misery they reaped on the world. Justice has been done.”
“All our enemies will perish,” he adds in another tweet. “Let all our enemies know on every front, in every tunnel, in every house that it will be the end of them if they go against the State of Israel. Especially today we must not forget, 101 hostages are still in Gaza. This is the moment to double and triple efforts to bring them home.”
Lapid earlier on Thursday called on the Israeli government to take advantage of the opportunity presented by Sinwar’s death to “strive for a comprehensive deal and also offer monetary rewards and safe passage to anyone who brings hostages to our forces.”