Vice President Harris on Thursday praised Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, calling for it to be an opportunity for the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza to end after more than a year of fighting in the Middle East.
“Hamas is decimated and its leadership is eliminated,” Harris said during remarks from Wisconsin, where she was campaigning.
“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,” she added. “It is time for the day after to begin, without Hamas in power.”
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed Thursday that it killed Sinwar during an Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip.
Despite both Harris and President Biden calling Sinwar’s killing an opportunity to end the war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a message that while Sinwar’s killing is an important moment, the task to end Hamas is not yet complete, CNN reported.
The Biden administration has spent months pushing for a cease-fire deal to end the war and for both sides to agree to release the remaining hostages and work toward a future for Gaza, but any potential agreements, which have been worked on by multiple countries, have yet to come to fruition.
Biden in a statement said that he will talk with Netanyahu about “ending this war once and for all.” He also called Sinwar’s killing “the opportunity for a ‘day after’ in Gaza without Hamas in power.”
The vice president said Thursday that the killing of Sinwar means “justice has been served,” arguing that “the United States, Israel and the entire world are better off as a result,” she said.
“He had American blood of his hands,” Harris added.
She said that U.S. special operations and intelligence groups worked closely with Israeli counterparts to locate and track Sinwar, commending their operations. And she issued a stark warning against terrorists threatening U.S. interests.
“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,” Harris said.
Sinwar is largely known to be the architect of the Oct. 7 attack, in which 1,200 people were killed in southern Israel. He was Israel’s top target in Gaza but survived in Hamas’s underground tunnel network for more than a year as the war of his making raged above.
Harris on Thursday called Oct. 7 “a terrorist attack that triggered a devastating war in Gaza, a war that has led to unconscionable suffering to many Palestinians and greater instability throughout the Middle East.”
Harris has faced backlash and protests from pro-Palestinian Americans for her support for Israel amid its war effort in Gaza. While on her way to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she gave her remarks, protesters gathered along both sides of the street yelling “free, free Palestine,” “justice is our demand” and “we charge you with genocide.”
“Bombing kids is not self-defense,” another sign read, while one referenced “Killer Kamala” and another said “VP Harris we charge you with genocide.”