By World Israel News Staff

Israeli president Isaac Herzog said that capturing Hamas head Yahya Sinwar, who masterminded the October 7th attacks, is crucial for the release of the Israeli hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.

Speaking in Jerusalem at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new offices of auto tech company Mobileye, Herzog stressed that Sinwar was the driving force behind Hamas and whether or not it will free Israeli captives.

“The reality is this, and the world and us must accept it, everything begins and ends with Yahya Sinwar,” Herzog said.

“He’s the one who decided on the October 7 massacre, it’s he who has looked to spill the blood of innocents, he who works to enflame the whole region, to destroy Ramadan, does everything to ruin coexistence, here and across the region, to cause us to fight with each other and with the whole world,” he continued.

“We must get to Sinwar – either dead or alive – so that we can see the hostages back home,” he added.

Nabbing Sinwar, he said, is the IDF’s top priority. Only when the Hamas head is in Israeli custody will there be a chance to repatriate the captives from the Strip to Israel.

“It’s he who seeks to deploy terror, and the whole world and the whole region should know that responsibility is his alone and he won’t get away with it. We won’t let him.”

In what may have been a reference to the recent proposal to free some 700 terrorists from Israeli prisons in exchange for the release of the captives, Herzog stressed that Israel is “making every effort to bring the hostages home.”

Hamas officially rejected the Israeli offer on Tuesday morning.

Despite international pressure for a ceasefire, Herzog said that Israel has “no choice” but to “continue the fight.”