Hamas could retaliate by killing Israeli hostages after airstrike eliminates terror leader Yahya Sinwar, experts warn

Hamas could seek an “eye for an eye” and slaughter the remaining hostages being held captive in Gaza, experts fear — after the Israel Defense Forces confirmed Thursday that the bloodthirsty terror group’s leader, Yahya Sinwar, had been killed.

Christopher O’Leary, a former FBI agent and hostage team expert, warned that Hamas has two paths going forward after Israel confirmed that Sinwar was killed in a routine military operation on Thursday.

The terror organization could either choose to restart cease-fire negotiations and free the hostages or retaliate and kill the captives.

“Hamas may want to send a strategic message by taking Sinwar’s death out on the hostages,” O’Leary told The Post. “The group has often discussed a strategy of an ‘eye for an eye.”

O’Leary warned that the retaliation could go forward if Hamas chooses Sinwar’s brother, Mohammed, as their new chief — given the siblings’ shared ruthlessness.

Mohammed is widely regarded as a mirror to his older brother’s ideals, with the younger Sinwar credited for helping organize the 2006 Hamas raid that kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

Shalit was eventually freed in 2011 in exchange for more than 1,000 Hamas terrorists, including the older Sinwar — teaching the siblings the power they could hold over their enemies with Israeli captives, O’Leary said.

The second path open to Hamas would be one of diplomacy, with top Hamas negotiator Khalil Al Hayya seen as a favorite to succeed Sinwar.

Al Hayya has been at the forefront of the cease-fire talks in Cairo and Doha following the assassination of former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran over the summer.

Retired Gen. Jack Keane, a former US Army vice chief of staff and chairman of the Institute for the Study of War, told The Post Hamas will likely lean on its political arm going forward as its military unit continues to be dismantled by the IDF.

“This is a major setback for Hamas as Sinwar has been in charge for so long… and no other commander they have commands as much respect as he did,” Keane said.  

“All the military chiefs who helped him launch the Oct. 7 attack are already dead, so only Hamas’ political chiefs are left.”

Keane added that with Sinwar dead, there is hope among officials that “now is the moment to strike a deal to get the hostages out of Gaza.”

Both Keane and Colin Clarke, a counter-terrorism expert at New York-based Soufan Group, described Sinwar as the biggest obstacle to the hostage negotiations, with the slain terror chief repeatedly interfering in the talks.

The experts, however, expect the war in Gaza to carry on given the recent escalation in the conflict that has come to include Hezbollah and Iran.

“If you asked me two months ago, I would have said the death of Sinwar could provide an opening for both sides to move forward with a ceasefire,” Clarke told The Post.

“But the way the Israelis have been on the offensive in both Gaza and Lebanon, I don’t think Netanyahu is going to stop anytime soon,” he added.

“I expect it to be important in degrading Hamas, but I doubt it will impact conflict resolution at this stage.”