WEST BANK (Dispatches) – Concerns grew among Israelis on Wednesday over the fate of dozens still held captive in Gaza following the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Haniyeh’s assassination “was a mistake as it threatens the possibility of having a captives deal,” said Anat Noy, a resident of the coastal city of Haifa, in her 50s.
“We woke up today with a sense of fear in our hearts that this can escalate even more. There is no calm... we are afraid.”
On Wednesday, Hamas and the Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps announced that Haniyeh, 61, had been martyred in Tehran in an Israeli air strike.
He was in the Iranian capital to attend the swearing-in on Tuesday of President Masoud Pezeshkian.
As the political chief of the Palestinian movement Hamas, Haniyeh was overseeing the negotiations for a deal to end the war in Gaza and release captives held in the territory in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in the occupied territories.
Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said Haniyeh’s killing takes the war with Israel to a “new levels,” warning of “enormous consequences for the entire region”.
Months of negotiations mediated by Qatar and Egypt between Hamas and the Zionist regime have failed to secure a ceasefire and captives release deal.
Both the Zionist regime and Hamas have blamed each other for the delay in striking the deal.
“We will be happy when the captives come back home and the war will be over,” said another Haifa resident, Avi Ben-Ishai.
Campaign group the Captives and Missing Families Forum said “true achievement” can come only with the return of the captives.
“Time is of the essence, and we implore Israeli and global leaders to decisively advance negotiations,” it said in a statement released after Haniyeh’s assassination was announced.
“This is the time for a deal.”
Tel Aviv resident Shahar Binyamini said she was anxious over how Hamas and allies like Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement would react to Haniyeh’s martyrdom.
“What stresses me now is the reaction of Hamas and Hezbollah,” Binyamini, 25, told AFP as she cancelled plans to go to the beach out of fear.
“My partner was in reserve service in the north since September and was told to be on standby.”