Kamala Harris has hailed the death of Yahya Sinwar as an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza and prepare for “the day after” when Hamas no longer dominates the territory.
The US vice-president and Democratic nominee said “justice has been served” with the death of the Hamas leader, adding that the US, Israel and the wider world were “better off as a result”.
Locked in a titanic election contest with Donald Trump to win the battleground state of Michigan, home to a large Arab-American voting bloc sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, Harris also pressed for an end to the year-long hostilities that have killed more than 42,000 people in Gaza and left a trail of destruction in the territory.
“Hamas is decimated and its leadership is eliminated,” she said. “This moment gives us an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza.” The end of the conflict had to be accompanied by security for Israel, the release of the remaining hostages and an end to suffering in Gaza, she said.
She also hinted at her support for Palestinian statehood by saying it should herald Palestinians’ rights to “dignity, security, freedom and self-determination”.
Her comments chimed with those of Joe Biden, who has been criticised by progressives for unstinting support for Israel even while Benjamin Netanyahu had ignored his entreaties to avoid civilian casualties and ease humanitarian suffering in the tiny coastal territory.
“Israel has had every right to eliminate the leadership and military structure of Hamas,” Biden said in comments that appeared designed to answer criticisms of his support.
He said Sinwar had represented an “insurmountable obstacle” to a better future for Israelis and Palestinians. “That obstacle no longer exists. But much work remains before us,” he said.
Biden said he would talk to Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders about “ending this war once and for all”.
After the two leaders spoke late on Thursday, the White House said they “discussed how to use this moment to bring the hostages home and to bring the war to a close with Israel’s security assured and Hamas never again able to control Gaza”.
However, Netanyahu – who has been accused of stalling a ceasefire deal – hinted that the conflict was far from over. “The war is still ongoing,” he said in a televised speech late on Thursday.
Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, called Sinwar – the architect of the 7 October attack on Israel – a “vicious and unrepentant terrorist” and said he had repeatedly torpedoed agreements that would have ended the conflict.
“On multiple occasions over the past months, Sinwar rebuffed efforts by the United States and its partners to bring this war to a close through an agreement that would return the hostages to their families and alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people,” Blinken said.
The news was also welcomed by US congressional leaders. The Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, said Sinwar’s life was “the embodiment of evil and marked by hatred for all that is good in the world”.
“His death brings hope for all those who seek to live in freedom, and relief to Israelis he has sought to oppress,” Johnson said.
Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate majority leader, said he hoped the event would lead to “an end to hostilities that will ensure the security of the Israeli people and provide full humanitarian relief and a new path forward for the people of Gaza”.
The former CIA director David Petraeus told the BBC that Sinwar’s death was “bigger than” the assassination of Osama bin Laden by US special forces in 2011, being “both hugely symbolic … but also hugely operational” because Sinwar was the overall leader of Hamas.
The news was also hailed by leaders across the world, and the Nato alliance.
Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, called Sinwar “the mastermind behind the deadliest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust”, adding: “Today my thoughts are with the families of those victims. The UK will not mourn his death.
“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.”
Similar sentiments were voiced by the general secretary of Nato, Mark Rutte, who said he “personally will not miss Sinwar.”
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said: “Today delivers a measure of justice for his victims and their families. Sinwar’s death ends a reign of terror.”
Posting on X, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, wrote: “Yahya 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.”
Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s prime minister, also called for the hostages to be freed. “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,” she said.
The sentiment was echoed by Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s foreign minister, who said “Hamas must now release all hostages and lay down its weapons, the suffering of the people in Gaza must finally end.”
