Israelis fear for hostages after killing of Hamas leader

Concern grew among Israelis on Wednesday about the fate of dozens of hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Haniyeh's killing “was a mistake because it raises the possibility of a hostage deal,” said Anat Noy, a 50-year-old resident of the coastal city of Haifa.

“We woke up today with a feeling of fear in our hearts that this could escalate even further. There is no calm… we are afraid.”

On Wednesday, Hamas and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced that 61-year-old Haniyeh had been killed in an Israeli airstrike in Tehran.

He was in the Iranian capital to attend the swearing-in of President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday.

As political chief of the Palestinian Hamas movement, Haniyeh oversaw negotiations on an agreement to end the war in the Gaza Strip and release hostages held in the territory in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said Haniyeh's killing took the war with Israel to a “new level” and warned of “enormous consequences for the entire region.”

The war began after an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel left 1,197 people, mostly civilians, dead, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.

The militants also captured 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still being held in Gaza. Thirty-nine of them have been confirmed dead, according to the Israeli military.

According to the Health Ministry of the Hamas-ruled area, at least 39,445 people have been killed in Israel's retaliatory campaign against Hamas in Gaza. The ministry has not provided any information on the number of civilians and insurgents killed.

– “Time is of the essence” –

Months of negotiations between Hamas and Israel, mediated by Qatar and Egypt and supported by the USA, have failed. It has not been possible to reach a ceasefire or the release of the hostages.

Both Israel and Hamas blamed each other for the delay in the agreement.

“We will be happy when the hostages come home and the war is over,” said another Haifa resident, Avi Ben-Ishai.

The campaign group Hostages and Missing Families Forum acknowledged the military successes of the past nearly ten months of war, but said that “true success” could only be achieved with the return of the hostages.

“Time is of the essence and we implore the Israeli government and world leaders to move forward decisively with negotiations,” said a statement released after Haniyeh's killing was announced.

“Now it’s time for a deal.”

Tel Aviv resident Shahar Binyamini said she was concerned about how Hamas and its allies, such as the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, would react to Haniyeh's killing.

“What stresses me now is the reaction of Hamas and Hezbollah,” Binyamini, 25, told AFP as she canceled her plans to go to the beach out of fear.

“My partner had been in the north as a reserve since September and had been instructed to be on standby.”

An Israeli strike targeted Hezbollah top commander Fuad Shukr in a building in a southern Beirut suburb late Tuesday, hours before Haniyeh was killed.

Shukr's death has yet to be confirmed by the Lebanese group.

Tel Aviv resident Jacob, who gave only his first name, said he was not sure whether killing Haniyeh would resolve the conflict.

“Our first goal should be the release of the hostages. The war of October 7 should not have taken place,” he said.

“Israel is doing its best to exist in peace in the Middle East. We are just defending ourselves all the time.”

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