By Abiola Olawale
President of the United States, Joe Biden, France President, Emmanuel Marcon, Isreal’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, among other world leaders and personalities have reacted to the killin of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar by Israeli military.
On Thursday, Israel claimed its forces have killed Sinwar in an attack in the southern Gaza Strip.
According to the Israeli military statement, Sinwar was killed on Wednesday after soldiers “eliminated three fighters”.
Reacting to the development, Israel’s Prime minister said the country has “settled its account” with Sinwar but the “war is not yet ended”.
Netanyahu in televised addressed declared that Sinwar’s death is an “important landmark” in the decline of the group.
In his reaction, Biden said Sinwar’s death marks a moment of relief for Israelis while providing the opportunity for a “day after” in Gaza without the group in power.
He said: “Yahya Sinwar was an insurmountable obstacle to achieving all of those goals. That obstacle no longer exists. But much work remains before us.
“I will be speaking soon with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders to congratulate them, 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.”
Also, Vice President and Democrats presidential candidate Kamala Harris hailed Sinwar’s death and said it is a chance to “finally end the war in Gaza”.
She said: “Justice has been served. Sinwar was responsible for the killing of thousands of innocent people, including the victims of October 7 and hostages killed in Gaza.
“Today I can only hope that the families of the victims of Hamas feel a sense and measure of relief.”
Similarly, France President Macron said Sinwar “was the main person responsible for the terrorist attacks and barbaric acts of October 7”.
“France demands the release of all hostages still held by Hamas,” Macron posted on X.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said “with the death of Yahya Sinwar, the person principally responsible for the October 7 attacks no longer exists.”
“I am convinced that a new phase should be launched: it is time for all the hostages to be released, for a ceasefire to be immediately proclaimed and for the reconstruction of Gaza to begin.”
Prime Minister of the UK, Keir Starmer said the United Kingdom “will not mourn” the death of Sinwar.
Starmer condemned the mastermind of the October 7 attacks and said his thoughts were with the families of the victims.
“The release of all hostages, an immediate ceasefire and an increase in humanitarian aid are long overdue so we can move towards a long-term, sustainable peace in the Middle East,” he added.
Meanwhile, Iran’s mission to the United Nations said the final moments of Sinwar will be a model for resistance to Israel.
The country said: “When Muslims look up to the Martyr Sinwar standing on the battlefield – in combat attire and out in the open, not in a hideout, facing the enemy – the spirit of resistance will be strengthened.
“He will become a model for the youth and children who will carry forward his path towards the liberation of Palestine,” it said, adding that “as long as occupation and aggression exist, resistance will endure, for the martyr remains alive and a source of inspiration.”
The New Diplomat reports that on Thursday, the Israeli military confirmed that it had killed Sinwar.
Sinwar is said to be the mastermind behind the deadly October 7, 2023, attack in Israel.
Sinwar was appointed the leader of the entire group after Israel killed his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, in an explosion in Tehran in July. The Israeli military also said it had killed the head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, in an airstrike in July. The Israeli military had earlier said it killed Hamas’ deputy political chief, Salah Arouri, in a bombing in Beirut in January.
Born on October 29, 1962, according to Hamas, Sinwar helped found the group’s internal security apparatus in the late 1980s. He earned a nickname among Palestinians: the “butcher of Khan Younis,” where he grew up in the southern Gaza Strip.
