President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris celebrated on Thursday the news that Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas and the primary architect of the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, was killed by IDF forces, also saying the development should help bring an end of the war in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the Sinwar's death on Thursday afternoon. He said that after Israeli forces fired at a building where Hamas were seemingly holed up, they retrieved a body that ended up being Sinwar's. A sample of his DNA, as well as his dental records and fingerprints were used to identify the body and confirm his identity.
Since the war in Gaza began last October following the attacks orchestrated by Hamas that saw the killing of 1,200 people and the abduction of 250, Israeli officials have repeatedly said one of their main goals was the destruction of the militant group.
Sinwar, who despite being in hiding was still believed to be leading the group, was among Israel's biggest targets, if not the biggest.
Netanyahu celebrated Sinwar's death, calling the leader "a mass murderer who killed thousands of Israelis and kidnapped hundreds of our citizens." But he stopped short of declaring total victory in Israel's war against Hamas. "Today, evil took a heavy blow— the mission ahead of us is still unfinished," he continued.
Washington, arguably Israel's biggest ally also celebrated the news , urging Netanyahu to plan a pathway to bring American hostages back to the U.S. and end the war.
President Biden released a statement regarding the development. He said Sinwar's death was a "good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world," comparing it to the feeling in the U.S. after the killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
He also said he would soon speak with the Israeli leader to "discuss the pathway for bringing the hostages home to their families, and for ending this war once and for all, which has caused so much devastation to innocent people."
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is dead.
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 17, 2024
This is a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world.
Here’s my full statement. pic.twitter.com/cSe1czhd9s
It remains unclear if Israel used information from U.S. intelligence sources to track Sinwar on Wednesday, especially as the encounter seemed to be random. But nevertheless, Biden mentioned their collaboration, saying he directed Special Operations forces to work with the Israelis to track down Sinwar and other Hamas leaders hiding in Gaza over the past year.
Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris also celebrated Sinwar's death after a campaign stop in Milwaukee, saying that "justice has been served,"
"He had American blood on his hands," Harris said, adding that the death should lead to the end of Israel's offensive operation. "This moment gives us an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza."
She also added that the war "must end such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination."
The declarations from the Democratic leaders come after tumultuous in-fighting within the party over the war. In fact, a faction of progressive voters who support Palestine have said they will not be voting blue in November due to the Biden administration's relationship with Israel.
Nadeen Bir, a 44-year-old Palestinian-American from North Carolina said she won't vote for Harris unless she commits to stop sending weapons to Israel.
"I feel conflicted because I know about splitting the vote and how that puts us at risk of having Trump as president," she said. "But it's not going to be our fault if Kamala loses."
In North Carolina, more than 88,000 people voted "uncommitted" in the primary. Trump beat Biden by just under 75,000 votes in that state in 2020, according to USA Today.
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