ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that the war in Gaza is “not over” following the alleged killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, even as Western leaders expressed hope that his death would present an opportunity to end the yearlong conflict.
“Today, evil has suffered a heavy blow, but the task before us is not yet complete,” Netanyahu said in a recorded address on Thursday.
Netanyahu’s sentiments were echoed by other prominent Israeli politicians, including Benny Gantz, the leader of the centre-right National Unity party.
Gantz, who resigned from Netanyahu’s emergency war cabinet in June amid disagreements over the prime minister’s handling of the war, said the “mission is not over” and Israeli forces would operate in Gaza for “years to come”.
Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi said that while his forces had settled “the score” with Sinwar, his forces would keep fighting “until we capture all the terrorists involved in the October 7 massacre and bring all the hostages home”.
Israel’s military said it killed Sinwar, who is accused by Israeli authorities of masterminding Hamas’s October 7 attacks, in a firefight on Wednesday in Rafah in southern Gaza.
Hamas has not confirmed or commented on Sinwar’s alleged death.
The remarks by top Israeli leaders appeared to dampen expectations among Western leaders that Sinwar’s alleged demise would hasten the end of the war.
United States President Joe Biden, whose administration is Israel’s most important political backer and supplier of arms, said the Palestinian leader’s alleged death was an opportunity for a “day after in Gaza” and a political settlement that provides a “better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held separate phone calls with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia and Qatar about Sinwar’s alleged death and “efforts to end the conflict and secure the release of hostages”, the US State Department said.
