The State Department on Thursday mentioned the killing of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar by Israeli troops introduced an “alternative” for a possible cease-fire and an finish to the yearlong warfare.
State Division spokesperson Matthew Miller mentioned till Sinwar’s death, “there’s been no path to ending this warfare as a result of Sinwar has refused to speak about releasing the hostages.”
“We now see a chance with him having been faraway from the battlefield, being faraway from the management of Hamas. We wished to grab that chance,” Miller mentioned.
Sinwar was a chief architect of the Oct. 7, 2023, bloodbath wherein Hamas militants stormed into Israel, killing almost 1,200 folks and kidnapping 250 others in an assault that surprised the nation. As of October 2024, Hamas militants are nonetheless holding round 100 hostages.
WHO WAS YAHYA SINWAR? THE ISRAELI PRISONER TURNED TERRORIST HAMAS LEADER KILLED BY IDF TROOPS
Israeli forces hailed Sinwar’s dying as a significant victory, however Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that his nation will maintain preventing till all hostages are free. He mentioned Israeli forces will management Gaza lengthy sufficient to make sure that Hamas doesn’t rearm.
It’s not clear who will succeed Sinwar. Whereas his dying is a crippling blow to Hamas, the group has confirmed resilient to previous losses of its leaders.
“One factor we do know for sure is that the world is a greater place with Sinwar gone from it, and it provides us a chance that we did not have so long as he nonetheless referred to as the photographs for Hamas,” Miller mentioned. “Now what that can imply, we’ll have to attend and see within the days forward.”
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Within the 12 months of preventing, Israeli forces have killed greater than 42,000 Palestinians and destroyed a lot of the Gaza Strip. The figures come from the Hamas-run Gaza Well being Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants however says half of those that had been killed had been ladies and youngsters.
The Related Press contributed to this report.