President Joe Biden meets with members of the National Security team regarding the unfolding missile attacks on Israel from Iran, on Saturday, April 13, 2024, in the White House Situation Room. (Photo: Adam Schultz/The White House)
Western leaders praised Israel’s elimination of Yahya Sinwar, the top Hamas leader who orchestrated the October 7 massacre of 1,200 Israelis and the kidnapping of 251 Israelis and foreign nationals. Sinwar was killed by Israeli forces on Wednesday during a firefight in southern Gaza, with his body discovered on Thursday on the second floor of a destroyed building.
“This is a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world,” U.S. President Joe Biden stated after receiving the confirmation of Sinwar’s death.
“To my Israeli friends, this is no doubt a day of relief and reminiscence, similar to the scenes witnessed throughout the United States after President Obama ordered the raid to kill Osama Bin Laden in 2011,” he added.
Biden acknowledged Sinwar’s responsibility for the Oct. 7 invasion and terror attack in southern Israel, saying:
“As the leader of the terrorist group Hamas, Sinwar was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Israelis, Palestinians, Americans, and citizens from over 30 countries. He was the mastermind of the October 7th massacres, rapes, and kidnappings. It was on his orders that Hamas terrorists invaded Israel to intentionally – and with unspeakable savagery – kill and massacre civilians, a Holocaust survivor, children in front of their parents, and parents in front of their children,” the U.S. president added.
Biden expressed his optimism that Sinwar’s death could potentially lead to a hostage release deal and an end to the war in Gaza.
“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.”
Regarding Sinwar’s death, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said that “justice has been served, and the United States, Israel, and the entire world are better off as a result.”
“He had American blood on his hands. Today, I can only hope that the families of the victims of Hamas feel a sense and measure of relief,” Harris said. “And I will say, to any terrorist who kills Americans, threatens the American people, or threatens our troops, or our interests, know this: we will always bring you to justice.”
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson also hailed the news of Sinwar’s death.
“Justice has once again been served by the brave men and women of the Israeli military,” Johnson wrote on 𝕏.
“Sinwar’s life was the embodiment of evil and marked by hatred for all that is good in the world. His death brings hope for all those who seek to live in freedom, and relief to Israelis he has sought to oppress,” Johnson added.
Across the Atlantic, European leaders expressed their approval regarding the death of the Hamas leader.
“I, for one, will not mourn the death of a terror leader like Sinwar – someone who was responsible for the terror attack on October 7,” said British Defense Secretary John Healey, adding that Sinwar “triggered not just the darkest, deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Second World War, but [also] triggered more than a year of conflict and an intolerable level of civilian Palestinian casualties.”
NATO Chief and former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte also welcomed the news of Sinwar’s death, saying: “If he has died, I personally will not miss him,” Rutte said.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock underscored Sinwar’s genocidal goal of destroying the Jewish state.
“Yahya Sinwar was a brutal murderer and terrorist who was bent on eradicating Israel and its people,” she stated. “As mastermind behind the October 7 terror attacks, he brought death to thousands of people and immeasurable suffering across an entire region.”
“Hamas must now immediately release all hostages and lay down its weapons; the suffering of the people in Gaza must finally end,” Baerbock added.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stressed that the IDF’s killing of Sinwar was an act of self-defense against the Hamas terrorist organization.
“It seems that the military leader of Hamas has been killed, and I believe that, from this point of view, Israel may have fulfilled its self-defense action against the Hamas terrorists,” Tajani said.
“I hope that the demise of the Hamas leader will lead to a ceasefire in Gaza. I will tell this to the Israeli leadership on Monday, asking for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon,” he added.
