Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday the war is “not over yet” after the killing of top Hamas leader and Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar, signaling the conflict would continue in Gaza despite the decimation of the organizational structure of the Palestinian militant group and calls from the U.S. to reach a cease-fire and hostage release deal.
In a televised address, Netanyahu said Sinwar “committed the most terrible massacre in the history of our nation since the Holocaust.”
“The mass murderer who murdered thousands of Israelis and kidnapped hundreds of our citizens was eliminated today by our heroic soldiers,” he said. “And today, as we promised to do, we came to account with him. Today, evil has suffered a heavy blow, but the task before us is not yet complete.”
Netanyahu added the war “is not over yet,” though he acknowledged it was “difficult, and it exacts heavy prices from us.”
“To the Hamas terrorists I say: your leaders are fleeing, and they will be eliminated,” he said, also addressing the Palestinians in Gaza. “Hamas will no longer rule Gaza. This is the beginning of the day after Hamas, and this is an opportunity for you, the residents of Gaza, to finally break free from its tyranny.”
Netanyahu’s defiance to continue the war in Gaza stood in immediate stark contrast Thursday after President Biden and Vice President Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, called for a cease-fire and hostage release deal to be reached.
Biden said Sinwar was an “obstacle” to reaching a deal.
“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,” he said in a statement.
Harris also called in a statement for “the day after to begin.”
But Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the death of Sinwar was “not the end of Israel’s fight for survival.”
“The Biden-Harris Administration must now work in tandem with Israel to apply a maximum pressure campaign against the head of the snake: Iran,” he wrote in a statement on the social platform X.
The Israeli military confirmed Thursday that Sinwar was killed in an operation in Gaza along with two other militants. It was not immediately clear how the operation unfolded.
Sinwar orchestrated the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, which killed nearly 1,200 people and saw the kidnapping of another roughly 250 hostages. He was the top Gaza leader for Hamas before taking over the chief political role after the death of his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, in July.
The Israeli military has taken out most of the battalions of Hamas in more than a year of war, and also killed other top leaders of the group, including Mohammed Deif, the military commander responsible for Oct. 7.
But around 100 hostages still remain in Gaza, and Israel is also fighting to ensure Hamas cannot crop up again as a threat. The IDF is also fighting in Lebanon against the Hamas-allied Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
The Biden administration has pushed for a cease-fire and hostage release deal for months, with talks dying down after reported changes made by Netanyahu. Sinwar was also accused of applying a hard line to the negotiations and had the ability to accept or reject conditions.
Biden and Harris have faced pressure to reach a deal, both to get the hostages home and ease the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, where more than 42,000 have been killed over the past year.
Netanyahu, speaking to the families of the hostages, said Sinwar’s death was “an important moment in the war.”
“We will continue with all our strength until the return home of all your loved ones, who are our loved ones. This is our highest commitment. This is my highest commitment,” he said.
Netanyahu also threatened any Hamas fighters who killed the hostages and said he would allow Palestinians who tell them where the hostages are to go free.
On the broader war, he said it was “now clear to everyone, in Israel and in the world why we insisted on not ending the war.”
“Today we clarified again what happens to those who hurt us,” Netanyahu said. “Today we once again showed the world the victory of good over evil.”