Blinken heads to Middle East in wake of Sinwar's killing

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is going to the Middle East in the wake of the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

“On my way to Israel and other stops in the Middle East for intensive discussions about the importance of ending the war in Gaza, returning the hostages to their families, and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people,” Blinken said in a post on the social platform X Monday.

Blinken’s trip comes after the death of Sinwar last week amid an Israeli military operation in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. In a joint statement with German Foreign Affairs Minister Annalena Baerbock last week, Blinken called the Hamas leader and architect of the Oct. 7 attack last year against Israel "a brutal murderer and terrorist who was bent on eradicating Israel and its people.”

“Sinwar stood in the way of a ceasefire in Gaza. His death can create a momentum to end the conflict,” Baerbock and Blinken said in the statement. “All hostages must be released. At the same time, humanitarian aid must be surged to the civilians in Gaza in need.”

According to a statement from State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, the secretary “will discuss the importance of bringing the war in Gaza to an end, securing the release of all hostages, and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people” amid his trip.

In a Thursday statement, President Biden said “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” exists "now[.]"

“Yahya Sinwar was an insurmountable obstacle to achieving all of those goals. That obstacle no longer exists. But much work remains before us,” Biden said.

Sinwar’s death came about a year after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which left around 1,200 Israelis dead. Over 250 hostages were taken amid the attack which started the current Israel-Hamas war. Israeli attacks in the war have caused the deaths of over 42,000 Palestinians, per local health officials.