Israeli President Isaac Herzog has vowed that Hamas leader Yehya al-Sinwar will be taken dead or alive.

Herzog sees the Hamas leader as the lynchpin in the Gaza war and key to getting Israel’s hostages held in the Gaza Strip released.

“In the end, there is no choice,” Herzog said in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

“We must continue the fight and we must get to Sinwar – either alive or dead – so that we can see the hostages back home.

Herzog added that the reality is clear, saying: “Everything begins and ends with Yehya Sinwar.

“He’s the one who decided on the October massacre.

“He’s been seeking to shed the blood of the innocent ever since.

“It is he who aims to escalate the regional situation, to desecrate Ramadan, to do everything to shatter coexistence in our country and in the whole region, to sow discord among us and around the world.” (dpa/NAN)