Israel believes that Hamas is expected to appoint a successor to Sinwar. The estimates are that Yahya Sinwar's brother, Muhammad Sinwar, is the one who will dictate the tone - and his weight in the decision-making system in Gaza will increase significantly. As a result of this, the IDF will move its focus back to Gaza (and away from Lebanon)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant held an emergency security consultation with Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Shin Bet Chief Ronan Bar at the border of the Gaza Strip.
The speaker of the Knesset, Amir Ohana, published a message in Arabic on X: "A year ago he was a hero, now he is annihilated. Where will you be in a year? Return the hostages, lay down your weapons, save your souls."
The hostage families called on people to come to Tel Aviv to support the call "to take advantage of Sinwar's elimination to free the hostages".
After Sinwar's assassination, former deputy chief of staff, Major General Yair Golan, said, "Now there is only one more thing left to do. Return 101 abductees - and now!".
Opposition leader Yair Lapid agreed, saying that "Israel should take advantage of the opportunity for a decisive move regarding the hostages , strive for a comprehensive deal and also offer monetary rewards and safe passage to anyone who brings the hostages to our forces."
Member of Knesset Gilad Karib wrote on X: "Yahya Sinwar is a son of death, and the IDF soldiers returned him as his reward. But even today we must remember that our abducted brothers are the sons of life and our mission is to return them. The Israeli government has an obligation to take advantage of the current moment to initiate a comprehensive hostage deal - which will also lead to the end of the fighting in Gaza."
Kann News contributed to this article.
