Israelis and Palestinians react to Hamas leader Sinwar's death

Many Israelis cheered and danced connected the streets astatine the quality that Hamas person Yahya Sinwar - main designer of the 7 October 2023 onslaught connected Israel - had been killed.

But his decease astatine the hands of Israeli forces successful Gaza connected Wednesday has raised anxieties for families of the 101 hostages inactive held by Hamas.

Meanwhile, fewer Palestinians believed Sinwar's sidesplitting would bring an extremity to the devastating year-old war successful Gaza.

Israel's subject violative successful Gaza has killed astatine slightest 42,500 Palestinians, the Hamas-run wellness ministry successful Gaza says. It followed Hamas's onslaught connected Israeli communities connected 7 October past year, which killed astir 1,200 radical and saw the radical instrumentality 251 hostages.

People successful Israel were overwhelmingly supportive of Sinwar's sidesplitting in a accidental brushwood with Israeli troops.

In Tiberias successful bluish Israel, respective 100 radical danced, waved flags and played large euphony astatine the news.

“It’s precise good“, Nissim Weizmann told the BBC arsenic helium sat extracurricular a market store successful the town.

"He’s a atrocious antheral and his clip has come. This is simply a contiguous for everyone. Both Palestinians who are with america and the Jews."

At a formation conscionable southbound of Tel Aviv, bathers cheered and applauded erstwhile a lifeguard archetypal announced rumours of the decease implicit a loudspeaker.

But others were much circumspect, wondering however Sinwar's sidesplitting would impact prospects for the merchandise of Israeli hostages who proceed to beryllium held by Hamas successful Gaza.

"To beryllium honest, I consciousness a spot numb," Anat Ron Kandle successful Tel Aviv told the Reuters quality agency.

"I person a heavy interest for the hostages, and it's precise hard to find religion and hope.

"And I ever deliberation about, what if that could person been me, [it] could person been my lad that was with me?"

Family members of the remaining 101 hostages inactive successful Gaza gathered successful Tel Aviv aft the quality broke.

They person been demonstrating for months, urging the Israeli authorities to scope a ceasefire woody with Hamas to get their relatives home.

Einav Zangauker, whose lad Matan was taken hostage, urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "Don't hide the hostages."

"Go retired present to the mediators and to the nationalist and laic retired a caller Israeli initiative," she said to Reuters.

"If Netanyahu doesn't usage this infinitesimal and doesn't get up present to laic retired a caller Israeli inaugural - adjacent astatine the disbursal of ending the warfare - it means helium has decided to wantonness the hostages successful an effort to prolong the warfare and fortify his rulership."

In Gaza, immoderate Palestinians said they believed Sinwar's decease could unfastened a way towards ending the war, saying it near Israel with "no crushed to proceed this genocide".

"They ever said they wanted to destruct Sinwar to halt this war," Ali Chameli told Reuters.

But the world connected the crushed since his sidesplitting was "quite the opposite", said Jemaa Abou Mendi.

Speaking to the AFP quality agency, helium said: "the warfare has not stopped, and the killings proceed unabated."

Speaking successful the metropolis of Khan Younis, which has been mostly near successful ruins by a twelvemonth of bombardment and fighting, Dr Ramadan Faris said the result of the warfare did not beryllium connected immoderate azygous person's fate.

"It's a warfare of extermination against the Palestinian people, arsenic we each cognize and understand," helium said.

Also successful Khan Younis was Lina Anuni, who fled Gaza City with her 3 children a twelvemonth ago.

“I opposed [Sinwar] portion helium was live and clasp him arsenic responsible, alongside the Israeli occupation, for my suffering and that of 2.3 cardinal Palestinians," she told the BBC.

"Yet, I felt a consciousness of sadness astatine his passing,” she added.

One man, who chose not to beryllium identified, told the BBC World Service's Gaza Today programme that though determination were "differing opinions" astir the erstwhile Hamas leader, his decease would not alteration things for radical successful Gaza.

"I don't judge this volition alteration the dynamics of the conflict," helium said, citing however the deaths of different elder Hezbollah and Hamas figures - like Hassan Nasrallah past month - had resulted successful "nothing fundamentally" shifting.

"Instead, tensions escalated further, raising concerns for america arsenic Palestinians," helium said.

Some Palestinians described Sinwar arsenic a martyr.

Yousef Jamal, who said helium supported the 7 October onslaught connected Israel, said: "He [Sinwar] did not fell among the displaced, question refuge with force prisoners, oregon retreat into tunnels.”

Yahya Sinwar, 61, was said to person spent overmuch of his clip hiding successful tunnels on with a tiny squad of bodyguards and a "human shield" of hostages seized from Israel.

But reports bespeak helium met his extremity successful an brushwood with an Israeli patrol successful confederate Gaza. No hostages were recovered with him.