US president Joe Biden has said Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza on Thursday raises the “prospect of a ceasefire” in the year-long war with Israel.
On arrival in Berlin, Mr Biden called Mr Sinwar’s death, confirmed minutes previously by Hamas, a “moment of justice”, given he masterminded the October 7th attacks and was to blame for the deaths of Israels, Palestinians, Germans, Americans and many others.
On a farewell tour to Europe, Mr Biden said the Hamas leader’s death had removed an “insurmountable obstacle” to a peace agreement and left him “more hopeful” about the prospects of a Middle East ceasefire. Amid frenzied telephone diplomacy with regional leaders, Mr Biden promised to dispatch US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, to Israel in the coming days.
“Let’s also make this an opportunity to seek a path to peace, a better future in Gaza without Hamas,” said Mr Biden in a joint press appearance alongside chancellor Olaf Scholz.
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The German leader agreed that Mr Sinwar’s death raised hopes of “the concrete prospect of a ceasefire in Gaza and an agreement on the release of the Hamas hostages”.
After a working lunch during a curtailed state visit, postponed because of last week’s Florida hurricane, the two were joined by French president Emmanuel Macron and British prime minister Keir Starmer.
Their talks are likely to focus on the Middle East and the Ukraine “peace plan” presented this week in Kyiv.
The US and Germany remain opposed to loosening restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine, in particular allowing them strike targets inside Russia.
Neither gave any indication in Berlin that they will shift from their stance on the use of their weapons against Russia.
Instead Mr Biden promised a further “surge” of military support for Ukraine.
“We are supporting Ukraine as strongly as we can,” said Mr Scholz. “At the same time we are concerned with Nato not becoming a party to war so that this doesn’t end in an even-bigger catastrophe.”
He praised US leadership via Nato for allowing Ukraine “face down imperialist Russia these last two years”.
Returning the compliments, Mr Biden praised leadership in Europe from Germany, the second-largest military and humanitarian donor to Ukraine.
“You’ve showed decisiveness and adapted German foreign policy to new realities,” said Mr Biden, a nod to modern Germany’s first-ever arms exports to a war zone.
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