Joe Biden has told Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to use the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as an "opportunity to seek a path to peace" in Gaza.
The US president - who is Mr Netanyahu's closest international ally described the assassination of Israel's most wanted man as "a moment of justice" which raises the prospect of a deal to agree on a ceasefire and the return of the hostages still held in Gaza, as their families issued fresh demands for a release deal.
Mr Biden, speaking from Berlin where he was meeting German chancellor Olaf Scholz yesterday, 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." He added that Sinwar "had the blood of Americans and Israelis, Palestinians and Germans and so many others on his hands".
Sir Keir Starmer reiterated that in a press conference in the German capital, saying that "no one should mourn the death of Hamas leader Sinwar".
"The answer is diplomacy and now we must make the most of this moment," he added. "What is needed now is a ceasefire, immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, immediate access to humanitarian aid and a return to the path towards the two-state solution. as the only way to deliver long-term peace and security."
Sinwar, who is believed to have masterminded the 7 October attack which triggered Israel's retaliatory war inside Gaza, was killed in a suburb of Rafah on Wednesday in a seemingly chance encounter with patrolling Israeli troops.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 19, 2024 من The Independent.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 19, 2024 من The Independent.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
South Africa find a spring in their step to dominate game
A captivating year saw lots of storylines including a thrilling sevens tournaments at the Paris Olympics, Antoine Dupont magic and a Springboks double, writes Harry Latham-Coyle
Lords of the ring walk
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk created history this year
Basque in the glow: Iraola the best-kept secret lifting Cherries to new heights.
A 42-year-old Spanish head coach from the Basque region making waves and earning admirers in the Premier League isn’t a unique position.
Even cold hard cash isn't enough for this spent force
Pep Guardiola has witnessed his empire start to fall as ‘forever football’ takes its toll, writes Miguel Delaney
The babies from the Boxing Day tsunami - 20 years on
The 2004 disaster left thousands without parents. Former travel agent Lynn Stanier explains how after volunteering she vowed to never stop helping the kids she met in Sri Lanka
Hundreds of Humvees left by US forces in Afghanistan
American and Nato troops abandoned military equipment worth more than $7.2bn, much of which is now in a state of disrepair in the Taliban’s hands, as Arpan Rai reports
The family who see saving Gaza's animals as 'our duty'
A heroic family-run animal sanctuary has defied the odds by working around the clock” to save hundreds of animals suffering in Gaza during a year of intense Israeli bombardment.
Nearly 40 dead as plane crashes in Kazakhstan
Children among 29 survivors of Russian-bound flight
Man arrested for attempted murder after four hit by car
A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after four pedestrians were hit by a car in London’s West End in the early hours of Christmas Day.
Britain's lost Atlantis: Stone Age artefacts on the seabed
Discovery reveals more on prehistoric land under North Sea