Early this morning, Israeli authorities notified my national security team that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar may have been killed in a mission in Gaza. A DNA test confirmed Shinwar’s death. Today is a good day for Israel, for America, and for the world.
As the leader of the terrorist organization Hamas, Shinwar was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Israelis, Palestinians, Americans, and citizens of more than 30 countries. He was the mastermind behind the October 7 massacre, rape, and kidnapping. Hamas terrorists invaded Israel and deliberately and with unspeakable brutality murdered and massacred civilians, Holocaust survivors, children in front of their parents, parents in front of their children. was at his command.
More than 1,200 people were murdered that day, including 46 Americans, making it the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. More than 250 people were taken hostage, with 101 still missing. This number includes seven Americans, four of whom are still alive and believed to be in the custody of Hamas terrorists. Sinwar is the person most responsible for this and much that followed.
Immediately after the October 7 massacre, I directed special operations personnel and our intelligence experts to work with their Israeli counterparts to help locate and track down Shinwar and other Hamas leaders hiding in Gaza. I was instructed to cooperate.
With the support of our intelligence services, the Israel Defense Forces relentlessly pursued Hamas leaders, forcing them from their hiding places and forcing them to flee. Military operations like this are rare, with Hamas’s leaders living and traveling through hundreds of miles of underground tunnels, organized on multiple levels underground, and operating on their own with no regard for civilians suffering on the ground. He was determined to protect them. But today we proved once again that no terrorist anywhere in the world can escape justice, no matter how long it takes.
For friends of Israel, this is undoubtedly a day of relief and reminiscence, similar to the scenes witnessed across the country after President Obama ordered the raid to kill Osama bin Laden in 2011.
Israel had every right to eliminate Hamas’s leadership and military structure. Hamas can no longer carry out October 7th again.
I will soon speak with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders to congratulate them and discuss ways to bring the hostages home to their families and to bring this war, which has caused so much harm to innocent people, to a complete end. We plan to discuss the path forward.
There is now an opportunity for a political solution that will lead to a “next day” in Gaza where Hamas does not seize power and a better future for both Israelis and Palestinians. Yahya Sinwar was an insurmountable obstacle in achieving all these goals. That obstacle no longer exists. However, many challenges remain before us.
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