Beyond his cabinet and political base, Netanyahu has long been accused of prioritizing his political survival by pandering to his right-wing base by waging wars that some former allies say lack detailed strategy.
Former Prime Minister Benny Gantz resigned from Netanyahu’s cabinet in June, accusing Netanyahu of standing in the way of “real victory,” while others argued that killing the Hamas leader would not defeat the group .
Sinwar’s killing will only intensify Netanyahu’s demands for a deal. “Now, more than ever, we must take all possible actions to bring back the 101 hostages,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in an X post on Thursday.
After Sinwar’s death, many ordinary Israelis were not optimistic that the hostages were about to return.
“I worry that the motives of the Netanyahu government are never entirely pure,” Hagay Keren, a 52-year-old lawyer from a town south of the northwestern city of Haifa, told NBC News. “The best interest of Netanyahu’s government is the continuation of the war, which means that all possibilities for bringing back hostages may not be fully exploited now.”
Similar skepticism is shared by the families of many of those still held by Hamas militants.
Jonathan Dekel-Chen’s son Sagui, then 35, was taken hostage on October 7. Any victory will come,” he told NBC News. “I would like to believe that Netanyahu and his government are consistent with that understanding, but their actions to date call that … understanding into question.”
“Now that Sinwar has clearly been killed,” Decker-Chan added, “there is no reason to take any action other than to take any action possible and necessary to get the hostages home.”
As for Netanyahu’s next steps, the veteran political operator will wait and see what happens next for Israel’s most influential backer. American voters will choose the next president within 30 days of Israel complying with the demands set out in this week’s letter.
But Chatham House’s Bronwen Maddox said how seriously Netanyahu takes a lame-duck Biden presidency will likely depend on the outcome of the election. “My guess is that, like a lot of people around the world, he’s waiting for the results but doesn’t think he’s going to be under huge pressure before the election.”