Some reactions from European leaders to Israeli claims of Sinwar’s killing
French President Emmanuel Macron: “Yahya Sinwar was the main person responsible for the terrorist attacks and barbaric acts of October 7.” “Today, I think with emotion of the victims, including 48 of our compatriots, and their loved ones. France demands the release of all hostages still held by Hamas.”
Italy’s FM Antonio Tajani: “It seems that the military leader of Hamas has been killed and I believe that from this point of view, Israel may have carried out its self-defence against the Hamas terrorists.” “I hope that the disappearance of the Hamas leader will lead to a ceasefire in Gaza.”
German FM Annalena Baerbock: “Sinwar was a brutal murderer and terrorist, who wanted to destroy Israel and its people. As the mastermind of the terror on October 7, he brought death to thousands of people and immeasurable suffering to a whole region.” “Hamas must now release all hostages and lay down its weapons, the suffering of the people in Gaza must finally end.”
Biden: With Sinwar’s killing, ‘opportunity for day after in Gaza’
US President Joe Biden has issued a statement saying he was informed by Israel of the results of DNA testing that confirmed the killing of Yahya Sinwar in Gaza.
“This is a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world”, he said, adding that US intelligence contributed to Israel’s manhunt for the Hamas leader over the course of the last year.
But, in the wake of the Israeli announcement, Biden’s message to Israel appears to be one of winding down the war – even though Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu declared in his video address earlier that the war on Gaza is not yet over.
“I will be speaking soon with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders … 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,” Biden’s statement reads.
“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. Yahya Sinwar was an insurmountable obstacle to achieving all of those goals. That obstacle no longer exists. But much work remains before us,” the statement continued.
Biden has long blamed Sinwar and Hamas for the failure of negotiations to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza – blame that Hamas and some other world leaders place on Netanyahu and Israel.
Hamas has yet to comment on the fate of its leader.
‘Justice has been served’: Harris
This is what US Democratic presidential candidate, US Vice President Kamala Harris, told reporters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin after the Israeli army declared that it had killed the Hamas chief.
“Sinwar was responsible for the killing of thousands of innocent people, including the victims of October 7 and hostages killed in Gaza,” she said, adding that the killing gives an opportunity to end the war in Gaza.
“Today I can only hope that the families of the victims of Hamas feel a sense and measure of relief.”
The US is Israel’s top military and diplomatic ally. Earlier this month, a report by Brown University’s Watson Institute said the US has spent $22.76bn in support of Israel’s war on Gaza and operations against the Houthis in Yemen. The $17.9bn in military aid to Israel since the war on Gaza started a year ago is the highest annual total ever, the report added.
Yeah Harris isn't going to be any better than Biden. A trial before the ICC would have been justice. An assassination only makes another martyr to rally behind.
Would Zelenskyys death have Ukraine give up independence? I think not.
‘The resistance is not going anywhere’
Mohamad Elmasry, from the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, says the cycle of violence is likely to continue unless the fundamental causes of the ongoing war are confronted.
“We know that violence breeds more violence. This genocide will breed even greater levels of resistance – these are just basic facts,” Elmasry told Al Jazeera.
While also suffering losses, Hamas has been able to recruit thousands of new members since the start of the war, Elmastry said, citing United States intelligence.
“So the resistance is not going anywhere anytime soon unless the root causes of this conflict are addressed, and the root causes are well known,” he said. “They’re the Israeli illegal occupation of Palestinian lands, the apartheid system that Israel has set up, the siege on Gaza, and the continued injustices.”
Once those things are addressed, Elmasry added, there can be a peaceful resolution – “but until then, there will be resistance”.
