The Hostage Families Forum is calling on the Israeli government to leverage Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar's apparent death to secure an immediate deal to release the hostages being held captive.
"Along with the appreciation for the significant achievement [of Sinwar’s apparent killing], the families of the hostages express grave concern for the fate of the 101 hostages who are still being held captive by Hamas in Gaza and demand that [the government] leverage the military achievement to secure an immediate deal to bring about their return," the forum said in a statement. "The elimination of Sinwar is an important milestone on the way to the real victory, which will only be achieved with the return of the 101 abductees."
Two sources told Newsmax that Israel's military has confirmed Sinwar's death through DNA testing. Israel has samples of Sinwar's DNA from his period in an Israeli jail.
The military aide there were no signs that Israeli hostages had been present in the building where the three militants were killed.
Israel's Army Radio said the incident had occurred during a targeted ground operation in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip during which Israeli troops killed three militants and took their bodies.
It said visual evidence suggested it likely was that one of the men was Sinwar and confirmed that DNA tests were being conducted.
Sinwar, the chief architect of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, has been at the top of Israel's wanted list ever since.
The families complained the Israeli government has not been able to leverage the achievements Israel has made in fighting in Gaza to get the 101 hostages released. They called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to instruct his hostage negotiation team to secure an immediate deal to free their loved ones.
"There is and will not be a total victory without the release of all 101 abductees," they said.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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