Concerns grew among Israelis on Wednesday over the fate of dozens of hostages still held in Gaza following the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Anat Noy, a 50-year-old resident of the coastal city of Haifa, said Haniyeh’s killing was “a mistake because it jeopardized the possibility of a hostage deal.”
“Today we woke up with the fear that this situation could escalate even more. There is no peace … we are scared.”
On Wednesday, Hamas and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards announced that Haniyeh, 61, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Tehran.
He was in the Iranian capital to attend the swearing-in ceremony of President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday.
As political head of the Palestinian movement Hamas, Haniyeh was overseeing negotiations on a deal to end the war in Gaza and release hostages in that territory in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Hamas’ armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said Haniyeh’s killing would take the war with Israel to a “new level”, and warned of “dire consequences for the entire region”.
The war began after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.
The militants also seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still in Gaza, including 39 who have been confirmed dead by the Israeli military.
At least 39,445 people have been killed in Gaza in Israel’s counteroffensive against Hamas, according to the Hamas-ruled territory’s health ministry, although the ministry did not provide a breakdown of civilian and militant deaths.
Time of the Essence
Months of talks between Hamas and Israel, brokered by Qatar and Egypt with support from the United States, have failed to secure an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages.
Both Israel and Hamas have blamed each other for the delay in the agreement.
“We will be happy when the hostages come back home and the war is over,” said Haifa resident Avit Ben-Ishai.
Campaign group Hostage and Missing Families Forum acknowledged military achievements over the past nearly 10 months of fighting but said the “real achievement” would only come with the return of hostages.
“Time is running out, and we urge the Israeli government and global leaders to move the negotiations forward decisively,” said a statement released after Haniyeh’s killing was announced.
It’s time to make a deal
Tel Aviv resident Shahar Binyami said she was worried about how allies such as Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement would react to Haniyeh’s killing.
“Right now I am feeling stressed about the reaction of Hamas and Hezbollah,” Binyami, 25, told AFP, adding that he had cancelled plans to go to the beach out of fear.
“My mate has been in reserve duty in the North since September and was told to be on standby.”
Hours before Haniyeh’s killing, an Israeli attack late Tuesday targeted a building in a suburb of southern Beirut housing Hezbollah’s top commander, Fuad Shukr.
Shukr’s death has not yet been confirmed by the Lebanese group.
Jacob, a Tel Aviv resident who gave only his first name, said he was not sure Haniya’s killing would resolve the conflict.
He said, “Our first goal must be the release of the hostages and there should not be a war like 7 October.”
“Israel is doing its best to live in peace in the Middle East, we just protect ourselves all the time.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
