Biden says Sinwar’s death is an ‘opportunity’ for a hostage deal and an end to war in Gaza
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — President joe biden said on thursday that the assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar by Israeli forces 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 put an end to the years of war in Gaza.
U.S. officials expressed muted optimism that the killing of a militant characterized by national security adviser Jake Sullivan as a “major obstacle to peace” could breathe new life into ceasefire negotiations have failed to achieve a breakthrough despite periodic signs of progress.
“There have been no negotiations to end the war in recent weeks because Sinwar refused to negotiate,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters on Thursday. “We now see an opportunity in that he has been removed from the battlefield and from the leadership of Hamas, and we want to seize that opportunity.”
Biden, in a statement as he was on the way to Germanycompared the response to Sinwar’s death to the feelings in the US after the assassination of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was responsible for the attacks of September 11, 2001.
He said the murder of the mastermind behind the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel “proves once again that no terrorist 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 path to bringing the hostages home to their families and ending this war once and for all.” There are still about 100 hostages in Gaza, about a third of whom are believed to be dead.
The inability to reach a ceasefire that could end the war in Gaza and also bring about the return of the hostages has confused negotiators from the start.
The US has been working with fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar on a ceasefire proposal in Gaza since the war began a year ago, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other envoys making multiple trips to the Middle East were sent to reach an agreement without success. .
Last month, on Blinken’s tenth trip to the region since the start of the Gaza war, he skipped Israel and optimistic predictions of a breakthrough have been omitted.
“In recent months, Sinwar has repeatedly rejected efforts by the United States and its partners to end this war through an agreement that would return the hostages to their families and alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people,” Blinken said in a statement. a statement on Thursday.
The stagnant progress and seemingly conflicting priorities have created friction in the relationship between Biden and Netanyahu, as the Israeli leader’s pledge to achieve a “total victory” over Hamas has clashed with US officials. concerns about large-scale civilian casualties in Gaza. Israeli leaders presented Sinwar’s killing as a moment for Hamas to surrender.
The Biden administration had also urgently called for one immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah to avoid the possibility of all-out war in the Middle East sooner shift his message after Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an air raid and continued with a ground invasion in Lebanon.
Biden said that 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 offers a better future for both Israelis and Palestinians.”
He praised U.S. special operations forces and intelligence agents who helped advise Israeli allies over the past year on tracking down and locating Sinwar and other Hamas leaders — even though the U.S. said the operation that killed Sinwar was an Israeli operation .
Sullivan said Sinwar’s removal from the battlefield provides an opportunity to find a path forward that brings the hostages home.
“Now we will have to work to ensure that his death actually delivers the long-lasting blow to Hamas that we would all like to see,” he said.
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Miller reported from Washington. AP reporters Matthew Lee and Eric Tucker contributed from Washington.