Starmer says 'UK won't mourn death of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar' as Biden calls for end to Gaza war

17 October 2024, 21:22 | Updated: 18 October 2024, 00:45

Keir Starmer has said the UK won't mourn Hamas' October 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar, after he was killed by Israel, as the US pushed for an end to the war in Gaza.

Sinwar was confirmed dead by Israel's foreign minister on Thursday following DNA testing on bodies recovered at the scene of an Israeli strike in Gaza.

Sinwar has long been condemned as the mastermind behind the October 7 attacks.

Starmer said: “As the leader of the terrorist group Hamas, Yahya Sinwar was the mastermind behind the deadliest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust, as 1200 people were slaughtered in Israel.

“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.”

Speaking following the confirmation of Sinwar’s death, Joe Biden encouraged Israel to use this victory as an opportunity for peace.

In a statement, Mr Biden compared it to the feeling in the US after the killing of al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, who was responsible for the September 11 attacks on the US in 2001.

Sinwar’s death "proves once again that no terrorists anywhere in the world can escape justice, no matter how long it takes," Biden added.

The President will now speak with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders "and discuss the pathway for bringing the hostages home to their families, and for ending this war once and for all".

The assination of the militant Hamas leader means "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,” Biden concluded.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, said evil has been "dealt a blow" in an address to Israeli civilians.

Recent hours had seen Israeli forces investigate whether Sinwar had been killed as part of the ground operation by the IDF, after three people were killed in the Gaza operation.

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Israel's defence minister, Yoav Gallant, took to X following the operation, writing: "We will reach every terrorist - and eliminate him" adding soon after "our enemies cannot hide."

There are hopes that the death of Sinwar could lead to the end of the war. Former Defence Secretary Grant Shapps told LBC's Andrew Marr: "it is a very significant moment and I hope it could herald the beginning of the end of the situation in Gaza - both for the Gazans and the Israelis."

Sinwar, who has led Hamas within Gaza since 2017, is believed to have joined the militant group in the early 1980s.

As news broke of the Hamas leader's possible death, the IDF released a statement outlining the ground operation in Gaza.

"During IDF operations in Gaza, 3 terrorists were eliminated," the IDF said in a statement.

"The IDF and ISA are checking the possibility that one of the terrorists was Yahya Sinwar. At this stage, the identity of the terrorists cannot be confirmed."

"In the building where the terrorists were eliminated, there were no signs of the presence of hostages in the area.

"The forces that are operating in the area are continuing to operate with the required caution."

US vice president Kamala Harris said the killing of the Hamas leader "gives us an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza".

Speaking in Wisconsin, she said the war "must end such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realise their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination".

"It is time for the day after to begin," she added.

It comes as fifteen people are said to have been killed, including at least five children, by an Israeli in an air strike on a school in Gaza.

The figures, released by the Hamas-run health ministry, say Abu Hussein school, in Jabalia, northern Gaza, was the target.

It was a location that is said to have been sheltering displaced people, according to ministry official Medhat Abbas.

He told Reuters: "There is no water to extinguish the fire. There is nothing."

A building in central Beirut that houses offices of the Al Jazeera news network and the Norwegian embassy has been evacuated after a warning.

Mazen Ibrahim, Al Jazeera's Lebanon bureau chief, said the building's administration received three calls telling everyone to leave the property, which he said housed the embassies of Norway and Azerbaijan, as well as dozens of offices.

He said it was unclear who called in the warning.

Norwegian foreign ministry spokesperson Ragnhild Simenstad said the building was evacuated after a "bomb threat", without elaborating.

Israel has ordered the evacuation of several buildings, as well as entire cities, towns and villages, as it strikes what it says are targets linked to the Hezbollah militant group.