October 18, 2024 – On Thursday, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris commented on the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Statement from President Joe Biden on the Death of Yahya Sinwar
Early this morning, Israeli authorities informed my national security team that a mission they conducted in Gaza likely killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. DNA tests have now confirmed that Sinwar is dead. This is a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world.
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.
Over 1,200 people were killed on that day, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, including 46 Americans. More than 250 were taken hostage, with 101 still missing. That number includes seven Americans, four of whom are believed to still be alive and held by Hamas terrorists. Sinwar is the man most responsible for this, and for so much of what followed.
Shortly after the October 7 massacres, I directed Special Operations personnel and our intelligence professionals to work side-by-side with their Israeli counterparts to help locate and track Sinwar and other Hamas leaders hiding in Gaza.
With our intelligence help, the IDF relentlessly pursued Hamas’s leaders, flushing them out of their hiding places and forcing them onto the run. There has rarely been a military campaign like this, with Hamas leaders living and moving through hundreds of miles of tunnels, organized in multiple stories underground, determined to protect themselves with no care for the civilians suffering above ground. Today, however, proves once again that no terrorists anywhere in the world can escape justice, no matter how long it takes.
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.
Israel has had every right to eliminate the leadership and military structure of Hamas. Hamas is no longer capable of carrying out another October 7.
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.
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.
Remarks by Vice President Harris on the Death of Yahya Sinwar
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1:13 P.M. CDT
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Today, Israel confirmed that Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, is dead and justice has been served, and the United States, Israel, and the entire world are better off as a result.
Sinwar was responsible for the killing of thousands of innocent people, including the victims of October 7 and hostages killed in Gaza. 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.
Sinwar was the mastermind of October 7, the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust — a terrorist attack that killed 1,200 innocent people and included horrific sexual violence and more than 250 hostages taken into Gaza, including 7 Americans, living and deceased, who remain in captivity; a terrorist attack that triggered a devastating war in Gaza — a war that has led to unconscionable suffering of many innocent Palestinians and greater instability throughout the Middle East.
In the past year, American special operations and intelligence personnel have worked closely with their Israeli counterparts to locate and track Sinwar and other Hamas leaders, and I commend their work.
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.
Israel has a right to defend itself, and the threat Hamas poses to Israel must be eliminated.
Today, there is clear progress toward that goal. Hamas is decimated, and its leadership is eliminated.
This moment gives us an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza, and it 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. And it is time for the day after to begin without Hamas in power.
We will not give up on these goals, and I will always work to create a future of peace, dignity, and security for all.
I thank you all.
END 1:16 P.M. CDT
Source: Office of the White House
