The Hostage Families Forum is calling on the Israeli government to use Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s death as leverage to secure a deal to release hostages that are 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.”
This comes after Sinwar’s death was confirmed, via DNA testing, after being killed along with two others in an Israeli missile strike.
Additionally, the Israeli military said that there were no signs that Israeli hostages had been present in the building where the three terrorists were killed.
At the time, the Jewish State said visual evidence suggested it likely was that one of the men was Sinwar and confirmed that DNA tests were being conducted.
Sinwar was known as the chief mastermind behind the October 7th attacks on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, and has been at the top of Israel’s wanted list ever since.
Meanwhile, the families have been stating that the Israeli government has not been able to leverage the moves Israel has made in fighting in Gaza to get the remaining 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,” the families said.
