The death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on Thursday is being seen in Israel as an opportunity to bring about the release of hostages held in Gaza, while some of their relatives called for the immediate resumption of negotiations.

President Joe Biden called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from Air Force One to congratulate him on the killing of Sinwar, and the leaders agreed that this is an opportunity for them to work together to free the hostages, according to the Israeli readout.

Netanyahu offered immunity to Hamas terrorists who would give up hostages in his statement after the IDF confirmed it killed Sinwar.

“I call on anyone holding our hostages,” Netanyahu said, “whoever lays down his arms and returns our hostages will be allowed out and to live. At the same time, I say, whoever hurts our hostages is marked for death. We will settle accounts with him.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also said in remarks addressed to residents of Gaza: “It is time to go out, release the hostages, raise your hands, surrender.”

Netanyahu and Gallant’s remarks came soon after Israel’s negotiating team held an emergency meeting on Thursday evening, Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported. Mossad Chief David Barnea raised the possibility of restarting talks and offering immunity to try to bring about the hostages’ release. 

No negotiations have taken place in weeks, and when they did, Hamas, led by Sinwar, rejected all offers.

The Israeli prime minister also addressed remarks to the hostage families that “this is an important moment in the war. We will continue with full force until all of your loved ones are brought home.”

“Returning our hostages is an opportunity to reach all of our aims and brings the end of the war closer,” he said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz sent a message to dozens of his counterparts around the world, his office said on Saturday, in which he said “Sinwar’s elimination opens the door for the immediate release of the hostages and for a transformative change in Gaza – one without Hamas and without Iranian control … Israel now needs your support and assistance more than ever to advance these critical objectives together.”

Gil Dickmann, cousin of Carmel Gat, an Israeli hostage who was murdered by Hamas in August after Sinwar, according to Israeli media reports, kept her and at least five other hostages as human shields in a tunnel under Gaza, expressed cautious optimism in a webinar organized by the Hostages Families Forum.

“This is an opportunity that must be seized just like the chance to eliminate Sinwar was seized hours ago,” Dickmann said. “The greatest obstacle to a deal was eliminated today. We have to get the deal now.”

The news that Gat was held with Sinwar “was devastating to us,” Dickmann said. 

Still, he added, “we don’t care about revenge. We care that the 101 hostages will be brought back home. It is an achievement that [Sinwar] is no longer alive, but it doesn’t bring us any kind of happiness.”

Daniel Lifshitz, grandson of Oded Lifshitz, 84, who is still being held hostage by Hamas, said in the webinar that “this is a day where we can maybe see a bright future … after we heard Yahya Sinwar was a major obstacle to a deal for months.

“I encourage all parties to work for an immediate deal to bring everyone back home,” Lifshitz continued. “There’s no time to waste. The international community must act now to apply maximum pressure on Hamas and its supporters … Everyone has to be on it, now. That means [President Joe] Biden, the Prime Minister of Qatar Sheikh Mohammed al Thani, [Egyptian President Abdel Fattah] el-Sisi,” he said.