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(JNS) The families of captives held by Hamas in Gaza expressed mixed feelings on Wednesday morning over the targeted killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, as many were unsure how it would affect an expected breakthrough in hostage negotiations.
“For the time being, I don’t think anybody can know what the implications will be,” Yotam Cohen, the brother of Hamas captive Nimrod Cohen, told JNS. “Overall, it’s good.”
“We killed a major Hamas figure; we can now put pressure on them and force them into a deal. But there is also the risk that this could lead to stalled negotiations. We will have to wait and see Hamas’s response in the coming days, and it will also depend on how the Israeli government takes it from here,” Yotam said.
In a conversation with JNS, Tzvika Mor, cofounder of the Tikva Forum for Families of Hostages and father of Hamas captive Eitan Mor, supported the targeted killing of Haniyeh, the chairman of Hamas’s “political” bureau.
“Israel’s enemies should know that we are strong, and we are not afraid of them. Doing things like this will make them realize that we are ready to fight this war,” Mor said. “I think this is a very positive development.”
The Tikva Forum, an alternative to the larger Hostages and Missing Families Forum, is opposed to the idea of a ceasefire deal at any cost, and believes that only military pressure will lead to their loved ones’ release.
Haniyeh was killed in Iran early on Wednesday morning while he was in Tehran for the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The Israeli government has not commented on Haniyeh’s death, which came a few hours after the targeted killing by Israel of senior Hezbollah official Fu’ad Shukr in the heart of Beirut.
The first priority
“I’m happy that terrorists like Haniyeh and Shukr are not in this world anymore,” said Eyal Kalderon, a cousin of Hamas captive Ofer Kalderon. “But it shouldn’t take place, if even only one hostage finds his death because of it.
“The hostages must be the first priority. Then we will make sure to bring justice and take care of all the terrorists in the world, but the hostages need to be the first priority, and they must get out of this living hell,” he added.
Ofer Kalderon was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7, along with his son, Erez, then aged 11, now 12, and daughter, Sahar, 16. The children were among the 105 captives freed in November as part of a ceasefire agreement.
Discussing the impact of such assassinations, Kalderon circled back to the targeted killing of Hamas terror mastermind Mohammed Deif in an airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip earlier this month.
“We talked after Deif was killed and I was very hopeful that it would positively affect the deal and the negotiations and make Sinwar agree to seal a deal, but this was weeks ago,” Kalderon said.
“All those involved in the negotiations are telling us this is the right time to do it and we can’t lose this opportunity. This is our last chance to do it and bring all the hostages that are alive and the deceased back, otherwise we won’t know where they are,” he added.
On Monday, Netanyahu rejected Hamas’s assertion that Jerusalem is preventing a ceasefire agreement with new conditions and demands. “The Hamas leadership is preventing an agreement,” he said, according to a statement from his office.
“Israel neither changed, nor added any condition to, the [ceasefire proposal] outline. On the contrary, as of now it is Hamas which has demanded 29 changes and has not responded to the original outline,” the statement continued.
“Israel stands on its principles according to the original outline: Maximizing the number of living hostages, Israeli control over the Philadelphi Corridor [on Gaza’s border with Egypt] and preventing the passage of terrorists, weapons and ammunition to the northern Gaza Strip.”
Israeli officials told reporters that they were “rather pessimistic” after Mossad chief David Barnea returned from the Italian capital after Sunday’s two-hour mediation meeting.
According to the same report, Israel is demanding to see a list of the hostages still living before signing a deal. Jerusalem in recent days has transferred to Qatar and Egypt a list of abductees that fall under the humanitarian category, with a senior Israeli official telling reporters that at least 30 of the people on the list are still alive.
“I don’t believe that a deal will be finalized given that Israel wants to remain in the Philadelphi Corridor and that Hamas objects to that. There is nothing to talk about. Israel should exhaust Hamas to bring about the release of our hostages,” Tikva Forum’s Mor said.
