President Joe Biden said Thursday that the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar at the hands of Israeli troops is a “good day for Israel, for the United States and for the world,” calling it an “opportunity” to free hostages held by the militant group and end the year-long war in Gaza, without Hamas in power.
Biden, in a statement released while heading to Germany, compared the reaction to Sinwar’s death to sentiment in the United States after the killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, responsible for the 9/11 attacks. 2001.
Biden affirmed that it is now more likely to be able to find a “way” so that the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023 can return to their homes and to “end this war once and for all, which has caused so much devastation to innocent people.”
“There is now a chance for a ‘day after’ in Gaza without Hamas in power and for a political settlement that provides a better future for both Israelis and Palestinians,” the president stressed.
Biden explained that the Israeli authorities informed his foreign team this Thursday morning about a mission carried out in the Gaza Strip that, then, It was believed that it could have ended Sinwar’s life, something that was later confirmed by the Israeli Executive after carrying out DNA tests.
“This is a good day for Israel, for the United States and for the world,” Biden emphasized.
The president added that, after the October 7 attacks, orchestrated by Sinwar, he ordered an elite team, made up of special operations personnel and intelligence experts, collaborate closely with their Israeli counterparts with the aim of locating Sinwar and other senior Hamas leaders.
“With our intelligence, Israeli forces were able to relentlessly pursue Hamas leaders, drawing them from their hiding places and forcing them to flee,” Biden said.
Biden and Netanyahu spoke by phone
Biden called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone this Thursdayto congratulate him on the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, and both agreed that This action represents an opportunity to free the hostages held by the Palestinian Islamist group.
The conversation occurred while Biden was traveling to Germany on the presidential plane Air Force One.
Both the Israeli prime minister’s office and the White House reported, in separate statements, that the main topic of the conversation was how the death of Sinwar, considered the mastermind of the October 7 attacks, It could open a way to negotiate the release of the hostages and a possible ceasefire in Gaza.
Netanyahu’s office explained that the two leaders agreed that there is an “opportunity” to advance the release of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2024. He also noted that both leaders “will work together to achieve this goal.”
For its part, the White House indicated that Biden and Netanyahu spoke about “how to take advantage of this moment to bring the hostages home and close the conflict, guaranteeing Israel’s security and preventing Hamas from returning to control of Gaza.” Both leaders agreed to remain in direct contact over the next few days.
The United States has been working with mediators from the governments of Egypt and Qatar on a ceasefire proposal in Gaza since the war began a year ago.
Who was Yahya Sinwar?
Born in a refugee camp in Khan Yunis, a city in southern Gaza, Sinwar was elected leader of Hamas in Gaza in 2017 after establishing a reputation as a staunch enemy of Israel and on August 6 – after the assassination in Tehran of the then head of the political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh – was chosen to occupy the highest position in the organizational chart of the Islamist group.
Sinwar represented the hardest and most belligerent line of the group and is considered by Israel to be the mastermind of the October 7 attacks against Israeli territory in which some 1,200 people died and another 250 were kidnapped, which made him the most wanted man in Israel. Israel.
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