”The Israeli government must leverage the IDF achievements to bring [about the implementation of] the Netanyahu hostage deal, which was supported by President Biden. The hostages do not have more time for another cycle of violence,” Ruby Chen, father of hostage Itay, said following the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh Wednesday morning.
Itay, a soldier, was reportedly killed on October 7, and his body has been held captive in Gaza. Chen said that the families of hostages support the IDF in its activities and actions to protect the State of Israel.
“There cannot be total victory without the release of all the [remaining] 115 hostages in Gaza,” he added. “The living need rehabilitation, and the deceased need a proper burial.”
Avinatan Or and his partner, Noa Argamani, were taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7. Argamani was later rescued by IDF forces. Or’s uncle, Shimon Or, had a different reaction to Haniyeh’s assassination.
“I don’t have concerns about how Hamas will respond because I don’t care what Hamas thinks,” said the uncle, who is a member of the Hope Forum.
He said on Wednesday that he is no more concerned for Avinatan’s well-being than he was the day before the assassination. “I know that Hamas does not want to return the hostages regardless of Haniyeh, and so, as far as I am concerned, [Hamas] is not a legitimate source on which to determine the State of Israel’s actions,” he explained.
“My opinion is that the State of Israel must bring back the hostages by itself and not depend on a deal or anything that comes from negotiations with Hamas,” he added. Hamas does not want to return the hostages, “and therefore, it will not return them.”
He hoped that the assassination would lead to a strategy of refusing to talk with Hamas, saying that the country would not get the hostages back through dealing with the terror organization.
“If we talk to Hamas, Gazans will understand that Hamas is continuing to be a dominant leader in Gaza, and we will not get the hostages,” he said.
Removing Hamas’s power as its control crumbles will possibly enable Israel to bring the hostages home through ways that it had not previously considered, he continued. “The assassination can be leveraged into the start of a new strategy,” which does not include negotiations with Hamas.
Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, also reacted to news of the assassination, saying, “The elimination of Haniyeh must not lead to the elimination of a deal and sentence our loved ones in captivity to death.”
“The place of the heads of the monstrous Hamas is in hell, and we are all in favor of settling scores with them for their actions,” she said. “The 115 hostages are out of time, and so, especially now, we must translate operational success into a diplomatic move that will save lives and bring everyone back.”
'Bring back those you abandoned'
Einav Zangauker urged Netanyahu to “bring back those you abandoned,” saying that this is his primary responsibility.
“Accept the deal without new conditions and without unnecessary hurdles,” she demanded. After 300 days, this nightmare must end. I deserve to get my Matan back with a hug, and the other families deserve their dear ones back.”
Udi Goren, whose cousin Tal Haimi was murdered and kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, expressed his feelings after the assassination. “I have no choice but to always choose to believe that things are going to be better than they are. Because for 10 months, [the hostages] have not come back, and because they must come back and will come back, I have to believe that every step brings us closer.”
“Now I can certainly see how this assassination would put more pressure on Hamas on the one hand, leaving [Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya] Sinwar alone in the war and making him understand that we are going after him and that he has achieved the best he can achieve,” said Goren.
“On the other hand, this is certainly a significant enough blow to Hamas to be a meaningful image of victory for Israel,” he added, explaining that while Israel’s military goals for the war have moved forward, the goal of returning the hostages has not advanced.
“After this blow, we have a victory; we have Haniyeh’s head. Now is the time to bring back the hostages.”
BRINGING THE hostages home should only be part of a deal, said Goren, adding that a deal would also enable Israel to move forward and bring soldiers and reservists back to their families, allow some evacuees to go home, and let Israel begin to heal.
The hostage family forum also responded to the assassination, congratulating the IDF on the “important focused assassinations” of the last few days and weeks and the military achievements of the last 10 months.
"Israel has significant security achievements, but The State of Israel must remember that victory cannot be reached without using these achievements to bring all the hostages home," the forum said.
“That is the purpose of the war. That is the highest moral and national goal,” it added.The forum also called on Israel’s government to advance the hostage deal as presented by US President Joe Biden, which they call “Netanyahu’s Deal.”
The Hope Forum, which consists of some hostage families who have pushed for more military pressure against Hamas, congratulated Israel’s decision-makers on the assassination.
“The assassination of Hamas senior officials is an important step in pressuring Hamas to bring our loved ones home,” the forum stated.
“In order for Hamas to return them to us, the leadership of Hamas and the whole senior echelon must feel the heavy price they will pay in the future for holding the hostages.”