In what seemed like a fluke of nature, IDF troops heroically and methodically killed Hamas chief and October 7 architect Yahya Sinwar on Wednesday.
It was exactly what justice should look like, including the treatment of his body – there was no parading, no flaunting of Sinwar’s head – just a black body bag and straight to the medical staff for final confirmations.
Putting aside, for now, the question of how to react to the fall of our enemies, Israel, and its leadership are faced with an even bigger, more pressing question: What to do next? What is the day-after plan?
This question was posed all along – when the IDF began its invasion in late October 2023 – by foreign leaders, allies, and foes alike, as well as by the Israeli public; from anyone with an eye beyond the immediate future.
Many are shouting from the rooftops that it is not Israel’s responsibility, but that is an illusion. Israel cannot afford to become a pariah state, and, rightfully or wrongly, the world will hold Israel accountable for how Gaza recuperates.
‘What will true victory look like?’
This question was a can kicked down the line from the very beginning, and now that all the heads of the snake have been cut off – before running to attack Iran and the rest of its proxies – it is a question that must be answered. First and foremost, it affects the actualization of a hostage and ceasefire deal.
“If my brother is in this hell for over a year, it must be that [leaders] aren’t doing enough. Not the coalition, opposition, or the rest of the world. Where are the values we were raised with? That no one gets left behind on the battlefield? I ask you: What will true victory look like?” said Ya’ala David, the sister of hostage Evyatar David, said Saturday night.
“The answer is simple: Only in returning the 101 hostages, bringing life back to normal and the dead to burial,” she said.
Time has run out; this is a golden opportunity to use the pressure of the leadership vacuum in Gaza to secure a deal. But, it will have to include a diplomatic solution.
After Sinwar’s assassination, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that it marks the end of Hamas’s rule in the enclave and, as such, opens up the possibility of ending the Iranian-led Axis and creates new options to free the hostages.
Those who lay down their “weapons and return our hostages” would be allowed to “leave and live,” Netanyahu said, hinting at a plan that would allow those captors to be exiled in exchange for the release of the hostages. He issued a stern warning as well: “Whoever harms our hostages – their blood on his head. We will settle accounts with him. The return of our hostages is an opportunity to achieve all our goals, and it brings the end of the war closer,” Netanyahu stated, promising that this is his “highest commitment.”
Israel must use this opportunity to establish a stable governing force in Gaza, whether that’s Palestinian-led, backed by moderate Arab allies, or both. This kind of forward-looking approach must be part of the conversation.
What happens in Gaza now could affect the entire war against Iran and its proxies. Netanyahu said, “We have a great opportunity to halt the [Iranian-led] axis of evil and to create a different future.” This will be a “future of peace, a future of prosperity for the entire region.”
In May, when the IDF began its invasion of Rafah, the resistance was massive. Yet it was where Sinwar was killed and what IDF chief spokesman R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari said Saturday night was the defense establishment’s prediction, that he was wandering between Khan Yunis and Rafah to survive.
The IDF must be able to do what it needs. It knows what it is doing and is doing so methodically. Everyone opposed the invasion back then, but it brought results.
Now is the time to push the diplomatic pedal; military might won’t be enough, it never is. The day-after plan has become more urgent than ever. Left unsettled, it leaves Israel stuck and pushes the strain on the nation even further.