Israel Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu says the ongoing war in Gaza can end tomorrow if Hamas fighters lay down their arms and return the 101 hostages of Israeli residents from 23 countries, adding, the death of Yahya Sinwar, Hamas leader in Rafah is the beginning to ending the war in Gaza.

Benjamin Netanyahu disclosed this in a video broadcast on Thursday while confirming the killing of Yahya Sinwar in Rafah by Israeli troops.

Yahya Sinwar, according to the Prime Minister is the one that masterminded the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, that led to the killing of 1,200 people and 251 taken hostage.

Office of the Israeli Prime Minister in a statement on Thursday stated that the USA President, Joe Biden has called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the  evening of Thursday from Air Force One and congratulated him on the elimination of Yahya Sinwar.

According to the statement, the USA President commended the Israel Defense Forces, IDF for its excellent operation. “Both leaders agreed that there is an opportunity to advance the release of the hostages and that they would work together to achieve this objective”, the statement reads in part.

Benjamin Netanyahu in the video broadcast said and in quote that: “Yahya Sinwar is dead. He was killed in Rafah by the brave soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces.

While this is not the end of the war in Gaza, it’s the beginning of the end.

One year ago, Yahya Sinwar, the terrorist chief of Hamas, launched the October 7th massacre against Israel.

It was the bloodiest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. It was the worst attack on the Jewish state since the founding of Israel.

Sinwar’s terrorists murdered in cold blood 1,200 people. That’s elderly people, Holocaust survivors, children. They brutally raped women. They beheaded men. They burned babies alive.

And they took 251 women, men and children hostage to the dungeons of Gaza.

Today, the mastermind of this day of sheer evil is no more. Yahya Sinwar is dead.

He was killed in Rafah by the brave soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces.

While this is not the end of the war in Gaza, it’s the beginning of the end.

To the people of Gaza, I have a simple message: This war can end tomorrow. It can end if Hamas lays down its arms and returns our hostages.

Hamas is holding 101 hostages in Gaza, who are citizens of 23 countries; citizens of Israel, but citizens of many other countries.

Israel is committed to doing everything in our power to bring all of them home.

And Israel will guarantee the safety of all those who return our hostages.

But to those who would harm our hostages, I have another message: Israel will hunt you down and bring you to justice.

I also have a message of hope to the peoples of the region: The axis of terror that was built by Iran is collapsing before our eyes.

Nasrallah is gone. His deputy Mohsen is gone. Haniyeh is gone. Deif is gone. Sinwar is gone.

The reign of terror that the Iranian regime has imposed on its own people and on the peoples of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen – this too will come to an end.

All those who seek a future of prosperity and peace in the Middle East should unite to build a better future.

Together, we can push back the forces of darkness and create a future of light and hope for all of us.”

Israel Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has always believed the unreleased hostages are kept by Yahya Sinwar.

On May 27, 2024, Benjamin Netanyahu during a press conference at the Knesset stated that: “The repeated false claims that we are the obstacle are not only harmful to the families – that much is obvious, and I sympathize with them. But it goes beyond that: it delays the release of the hostages and undermines negotiations. Instead of focusing pressure on Sinwar, who holds the hostages in his dungeons, the pressure is misdirected at the Israeli government.

Israel is constantly asked to make concession after concession. So why would Sinwar feel any pressure? He sits in his bunker, rubbing his hands in satisfaction, delighted that others are doing the work for him.

The pressure should be directed at Hamas. We are taking action against them, fighting hard in the north, center, and south of the Gaza Strip.

In Rafah, we have evacuated about one million civilians. Tragically, despite our immense efforts to avoid harming non-combatants, an incident occurred yesterday. We are investigating it thoroughly and will learn from it, as is our policy and longstanding conduct.

For us, any non-combatant hurt is a tragedy; for Hamas, it is a strategy. That is the core difference.

The pressure, both international and domestic, on the Israeli government, which is doing everything possible to secure the hostages’ release, only strengthens Sinwar’s resolve, leading him to demand terms that would endanger Israel’s very existence—terms we cannot accept.

Let me be clear: I will not yield or surrender. I will not end the war before achieving all our goals. Our fallen heroes will not have died in vain.

If we surrender, the massacres, rapes, and atrocities of October 7th will be repeated, just as Hamas has promised.

If we surrender, we will not bring back all our hostages. If we surrender, we will deliver a great victory to terrorism, to Iran, and to the entire axis of evil—those who wish us dead.

Those who say they cannot withstand the pressure should raise a black flag.

No, they should wave a white flag and surrender.

I will not. I will continue the fight until we raise the flag of victory.”

Meanwhile, Israel Government had during the week reacted to the statement credited to the President of France over Israel war in Lebanon, saying: “a reminder to the French President: It was not a UN decision that established the State of Israel but the victory that was achieved in the War of Independence with the blood of our heroic fighters, many of whom were Holocaust survivors, including from the Vichy regime in France.

It would also be worthwhile to recall that in recent decades, the UN has approved hundreds of antisemitic decisions against the State of Israel, the purpose of which is to deny the one and only Jewish state’s right to exist and its ability to defend itself”.

Also during the week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refuted reports that the Israeli soldiers deliberately attacked United Nations Peace Keepers’ base in Lebanon.

The Prime Minister said: “The charge that Israel deliberately attacked UNIFIL personnel is completely false.

It’s exactly the opposite. Israel repeatedly asked UNIFIL to get out of harm’s way. It repeatedly asked them to temporarily leave the combat zone, which is right next to Israel’s border with Lebanon.

In fact, on the day that Israel began its ground operation next to our border with Lebanon, we asked them specifically, “Please leave this area so you’re not harmed.

Israel is not fighting UNIFIL. It’s not fighting the people of Lebanon. It is fighting Iran’s proxy Hezbollah, which uses Lebanese territory to attack Israel. Hezbollah attacked Israel last year without any provocation on October 8th, a day after the Hamas massacre, and it’s continued to attack us ever since by launching over 10,000 rockets and missiles at Israel.

Hezbollah uses UNIFIL facilities and positions as cover while it attacks Israeli cities and communities. These attacks have claimed the lives of many Israelis, including yesterday.

Israel has every right to defend itself against Hezbollah and will continue to do so.

We regret any harm done to UNIFIL personnel and the IDF is doing its utmost to prevent such incidents.

But the best way to assure the safety of UNIFIL personnel is for UNIFIL to heed Israel’s request and to temporarily get out of harm’s way”.