Hamas could retaliate by killing Israeli hostages after airstrike eliminates terror leader Yahya Sinwar, experts warn
Hamas could seek an “eye for an eye” and slaughter the remaining hostages being held captive in Gaza, experts fear — after the Israel Defense Forces confirmed Thursday that the bloodthirsty terror group’s leader, Yahya Sinwar, had been killed.Christopher O’Leary, a former FBI agent and hostage team expert, warned that Hamas has two paths going forward after Israel confirmed that Sinwar was killed in a routine military operation on Thursday.The terror organization could either choose to restart cease-fire negotiations and free the hostages or retaliate and kill the captives.“Hamas may want to send a strategic message by taking Sinwar’s death out on the hostages,” O’Leary told The Post.
“The group has often discussed a strategy of an ‘eye for an eye.” O’Leary warned that the retaliation could go forward if Hamas chooses Sinwar’s brother, Mohammed, as their new chief — given the siblings’ shared ruthlessness.Mohammed is widely regarded as a mirror to his older brother’s ideals, with the younger Sinwar credited for helping organize the 2006 Hamas raid that kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.
Shalit was eventually freed in 2011 in exchange for more than 1,000 Hamas terrorists, including the older Sinwar — teaching the siblings the power they could hold over their enemies with Israeli captives, O’Leary said.The second path open to Hamas would be one of diplomacy, with top Hamas negotiator Khalil Al Hayya seen as a favorite to succeed Sinwar.
Al Hayya has been at the forefront of the cease-fire talks in Cairo and Doha following the assassination of former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran over the summer.Retired Gen.
Jack Keane, a former US Army vice chief of staff and chairman of the Institute for the Study of War, told The Post Hamas will likely lean on its political arm going forward as its military unit continues to be dismantled by the IDF.“This is a major setback for Hamas as Sinwar has been in charge for so long… a...