Hailing Sinwar’s killing, Biden says he posed ‘insurmountable’ obstacle to political settlement, which must now be pursued

“This is a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world,” US President Joe Biden says in a statement reacting to Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

“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,” Biden says.

“With our intelligence help, the IDF relentlessly pursued Hamas’s leaders, flushing them out of their hiding places and forcing them onto the run,” he continues.

“There has rarely been a military campaign like this,” Biden says, highlighting how Hamas has operated through hundreds of miles of tunnels, operating below and around Gaza’s suffering civilians. “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,” Biden says.

He reiterates the conclusion he first reached in May that Hamas is no longer capable of carrying out another onslaught like the one it carried out on October 7. The point has been used in the past in order to urge Israel to work toward ending the war in Gaza.

Biden says he will soon speak to Prime Minister Benjamin 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,” Biden says.