EDITORIAL - Missing a chance at peace

For a while there was a fleeting hope that the war in Gaza would be over.

This after news came out last night that Yahya Sinwar, leader of the terrorist group Hamas, had been killed in an operation by the Israel Defense Force the other day.

Sinwar, often described as the architect of the October 7 terror attack against Israel, took over Hamas after his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated last July.

The hope was that Israel would declare a victory in Gaza, end hostilities there, and focus more on hostage negotiations and a ceasefire, as it was Sinwar who kept on blocking peace talks between both parties.

But this hope was crushed after Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war in Gaza isn’t over yet. That means more attacks on schools, refugee camps, and hospitals where Hamas is hiding. That means more “collateral damage” --dead innocent men, women, and children.

This was Netanyahu’s chance to at least de-escalate hostilities in Gaza and to concentrate on negotiating for the 101 hostages. He should have taken it

We understand his hesitance and why he is wary; Hamas has always been a resilient terror group that manages to come back from total annihilation. Netanyahu did declare that they wanted to make sure Hamas would never become a threat to Israel again.

But if not for peace, Netanyahu should think about the hostages. Every Israeli operation that targets schools, refugee camps, and hospitals, or practically any structure in Gaza, is always a chance to kill one of them. Remember that three of the hostages have already died at the hands of the IDF itself.

Then there is also another thing to consider. With their looming war against Hezbollah and also Iraq, Israel should at least consider closing this front. Again, history tells us that the longer a country fights a war on multiple fronts at the same time the bigger the likelihood of defeat.

Israel should not miss the chance to declare the war over in Gaza.