Washington
\nThe killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar by Israel has created an \u201copening\u201d for ending the war in Gaza, US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has claimed.
\nSinwar, who assumed full leadership of the Palestinian militant group in August, was assassinated by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) earlier this week in southern Gaza. Hamas officially confirmed his death on Friday. He was widely regarded as the key architect of the surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which triggered the IDF\u2019s invasion of the Palestinian enclave. The US has also accused Sinwar of blocking a potential ceasefire deal.
\nDuring a press briefing before a campaign event in Detroit on Saturday, Harris was asked to assess the risk of losing the November election amid the continued fighting in Gaza, which has brought \u201ca lot of churn and turmoil within the Arab-American and Muslim communities\u201d in Michigan, a battleground state with the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the country.
\n\u201cThere are so many tragic stories coming from Gaza,\u201d Harris replied, noting that an \u201cextraordinary number of innocent Palestinians have been killed.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd then fast-forwarding to today with the killing of Sinwar… This creates an opening that I believe we must take full advantage of to dedicate ourselves to ending this war and bringing the [Israeli] hostages home.\u201d
\n\u201cAs it relates to the issues in the Middle East and in particular in that region, it has never been easy,\u201d she said in response to a reporter\u2019s suggestion that the White House has so far not been effective in its mediation efforts.
\nMembers of the Muslim community, activists, and the progressive wing of the Democratic Party have harshly criticized Harris and President Joe Biden for not cutting military aid to Israel in order to stop the \u201cgenocide\u201d in Gaza. The issue continues to be crucial for the campaign, as recent polls indicate that Harris and her rival, former President Donald Trump, are effectively neck-and-neck, with Harris slightly leading in Michigan.
\nIsrael has said that it will not sign up to a ceasefire before the threat of Hamas is completely eliminated, and has vowed to continue military operations in Gaza.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Washington The killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar by Israel has created an \u201copening\u201d for ending the war in Gaza, US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has claimed. Sinwar, who assumed full leadership of the Palestinian militant group in August, was assassinated by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) earlier this week in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420083,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-438489","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n