Sinwar's death 'good day' for world, opportunity for hostage deal: Biden

President Joe Biden said Thursday that the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar by Israeli troops is a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world, and called it an opportunity" to free Israeli hostages held by Hamas and end the yearlong war in Gaza.

Biden, in a statement, compared it to the feeling in the US after the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, who was responsible for the Sept 11, 2001, attacks, saying the killing of the mastermind of the Oct 7, 2023, attack on Israel proves once again that no terrorists anywhere in the world can escape justice, no matter how long it takes.
 

 

Biden said he would speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders to congratulate them and to discuss the pathway for bringing the hostages home to their families, and for ending this war once and for all.

Biden said with Sinwar's death there is now the opportunity for a day after' in Gaza without Hamas in power, and for a political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

He praised US special operations forces and intelligence operatives who helped advise Israeli allies on tracking and locating Sinwar and other Hamas leaders over the last year though the US said the operation that killed Sinwar was an Israeli one.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan called Sinwar a massive obstacle to peace. He added, his removal from the battlefield does present an opportunity to find a way forward that gets the hostages home.

Meanwhile Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris said the killing of Hamas' top leader, Yahya Sinwar, by Israel gives us an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza.

Speaking from a Wisconsin college campus where she was campaigning, Harris said the war must end such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realise their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.

It is time for the day after to begin, she said.
 

As she arrived to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus, protesters shouted outside Free, free Palestine.

Israel says Sinwar was killed in a battle with Israeli forces in Gaza. Iaraeli Foreign Minister Katz called Sinwar's killing a military and moral achievement for the Israeli army.

Sinwar was a chief architect of Hamas' Oct 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that precipitated the war and escalating conflicts across the Middle East.