BERLIN (AP) — U.S. President Joe Biden is reiterating his call for Israel to use the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as an opportunity to move toward peace.
Biden said as he met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin Friday that Sinwar’s killing “represents a moment of justice.” He added that Sinwar “had the blood of Americans and Israelis, Palestinians and Germans and so many others on his hands.”
Biden said: “I told the prime minister of Israel yesterday, let’s also make this moment an opportunity to seek a path to peace, a better future in Gaza without Hamas.”
Scholz, also a staunch ally of Israel, said Sinwar’s death hopefully opens “the concrete prospect of a cease-fire in Gaza, of an agreement to release the hostages held by Hamas.”
On Thursday night, Biden said “now’s the time to move on. ... Move toward a cease-fire in Gaza, make sure that we move in a direction that we’re able to make things better for the whole world.”
BEIRUT — Ina statement, Hamas heralded Sinwar as a hero who “ascended as a heroic martyr, advancing and not retreating, brandishing his weapon, engaging and confronting the occupation army at the forefront of the ranks.”
The statement appeared to refer to a video circulating of Sinwar’s last moments, in which he sits on a chair in a badly damaged building, severely wounded and covered in dust. He then suddenly raises his hand and flings a stick at an approaching Israeli miniature drone in an apparent final act of defiance.
GENEVA — Forces in the U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon are maintaining their positions despite “demands” to move from the Israeli Defense Forces, a spokesperson said Friday.
Andrea Tenenti of UNIFIL, the interim force in Lebanon, says a “unanimous” decision was taken by its 50 troop-contributing countries and the U.N. Security Council to hold its positions and continue efforts to monitor the conflict and ensure aid gets to civilians.