Harris and Biden each respond to death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar calling him a ‘terrorist’

Biden says Hamas leader guilty of ‘unspeakable savagery’ as State Department promises to ‘redouble’ ceasefire talk efforts

US leaders denounced Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar after reports of his death were confirmed by the Israeli military on Thursday, calling him a “terrorist”.

President Joe Biden said that he was informed early Thursday morning that Sinwar had likely been killed in a targeted operation the day earlier, and described his killing in the Gaza Strip as an opportunity for diplomacy to begin again.

“DNA tests have now confirmed that Sinwar is dead. This is a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world,” said the president.

“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,” Biden continued. “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.”

Harris, his vice president, was in Wisconsin on the campaign trail when news of the Hamas leader’s death was confirmed. She gave brief remarks on Sinwar’s killing at the University of Wisconsin’s campus in Milwaukee.

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak about the killing of Hamas' top leader Yahya Sinwar in a battle with Israeli forces in Gaza, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024 (AP)

“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,” said Harris. adding that she “can only hope that the families of the victims of Hamas feel a sense and measure of relief”.

“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,” the Democratic candidate for president added.

Harris remains locked in a dead heat with Donald Trump, her Republican opponent, in Wisconsin and roughly a half-dozen other swing states, according to most polling. The election is less than a month away, and the ongoing carnage in Gaza is thought to be contributing to a depression of voter enthusiasm among a number of the party’s key demographics, including younger Americans.

Trump himself had not commented on Sinwar’s death in the Israeli operation as of late Thursday afternoon, after public press briefings at both the White House and State Department.

The State Department’s spokesman, Matthew Miller, was questioned by journalists at his news conference regarding why the US was optimistic that Sinwar’s killing would accelerate, rather than impede, diplomatic discussions aimed at ending the conflict. Miller repeatedly reminded reporters that Sinwar had (according to US and Israeli officials) walked away from those negotiations aimed at reaching a ceasefire earlier this year.

“Over the past few weeks, there have been no negotiations pertinent to the war because Sinwar has refused to negotiate,” Miller responded to one question. “There's been no path to ending this war because Sinwar has refused to talk about releasing the hostages or coming to a ceasefire. We now see an opportunity with him having been removed from the battlefield, being removed from the leadership of Hamas, and we want to seize that opportunity.”

He added: “Over the days ahead, the United States will redouble our efforts to return the hostages home, to bring an end to this war, to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people, and to allow the people of Gaza to be in to renew their bodies.

Miller described Sinwar as “a brutal, vicious terrorist responsible for the death of American citizens, Israelis and civilians from diverse countries across the world”.

“His decision, and it was very much his decision, to launch the terrorist attacks of October 7th, unleashed a year of tragedy in the Middle East. 1,200 people murdered on October 7th, 254 hostages kidnapped and hauled into Gaza, including children, infants, elderly and men and women of all ages. More than 40,000 people dead in Gaza, many of them civilians. That is the blood-soaked legacy that Yahya Sinwar leaves behind,” Miller added.