Harris says Sinwar’s death offers ‘Opportunity’ to end Gaza war

Vice President Kamala Harris said the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar offered “an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza” and said the killing would make Israel more secure.
“It is time for the day after to begin without Hamas in power,” Harris said Thursday after a campaign event with college students in Milwaukee.
The statement was a clear signal of the Democratic presidential nominee’s desire to capitalize on Sinwar’s death to help jump-start a cease-fire process that has repeatedly stalled out in recent months.
Israel’s year-long war in response to the Hamas attack last October, directed by Sinwar, has become a flash point in the US presidential election. While both Harris and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump have expressed support for Israel, the ongoing Gaza campaign – and mounting civilian deaths – has splintered Democrats, with some calling on the administration to restrict or end arm sales over the humanitarian crisis.
“I will always work to create a future of peace, dignity and security for all,” Harris said.
Her remarks echoed a statement issued minutes earlier by President Joe Biden, who said he planned to speak soon to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “to congratulate them, to discuss the pathway for bringing the hostages home to their families, and for ending this war once and for all, which has caused so much devastation to innocent people.”
“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 said. “Yahya Sinwar was an insurmountable obstacle to achieving all of those goals. That obstacle no longer exists.”
But Netanyahu said earlier Thursday that Israel’s “mission” in Gaza was not over and the war had not ended, suggesting hostilities could continue.
Republicans have seized on the bloodshed to argue that Trump would be better able to calm conflicts across the globe – and needle Democrats over divisions in their electoral coalition.
Harris was greeted Thursday on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee by pro-Palestinian protesters, and press were not permitted to observe her interactions with students.
Democrats are particularly concerned that the issue could impact the race in states like Michigan and Minnesota with large Arab-American populations. More than 100,000 voters in Michigan’s Democratic presidential primary — and several hundred thousand more in other states — voted to send “uncommitted” delegates to the party’s nominating convention to protest the administration’s handling of the conflict. The movement unsuccessfully lobbied for a pro-Palestinian speaker to be added to the gathering’s televised prime-time agenda.
Earlier this month, Harris met with Muslim and Arab-American leaders in Michigan in another closed-door meeting as she sought to address concerns about US support for Israel in the ongoing conflict.