Johnson: Slain Hamas leader's life was 'embodiment of evil and marked by hatred'
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Thursday marked the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar by calling him "the embodiment of evil," adding his life was "marked by hatred for all that is good in the world.”
“His death brings hope for all those who seek to live in freedom, and relief to Israelis he has sought to oppress," Johnson said in a post on the social platform X.
Sinwar, the architect of the Oct. 7 attack last year against Israel, was killed amid an Israeli military operation in Gaza on Thursday, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
“Let this be a reminder to Hamas and all those who were involved in the October 7th attacks: you may try to terrorize and intimidate, but those who live under the banner of freedom will never surrender,” Johnson said in his post.
“The eternal flame of liberty and the faith of the Jewish people will never be snuffed out by the darkness of barbarism and the cruelty of antisemitism.”
In a previous statement, the Israeli military and Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, said, “Yahya Sinwar was eliminated after hiding for the past year behind the civilian population of Gaza, both above and below ground in Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip.”
“The dozens of operations carried out by the IDF and the ISA over the last year, and in recent weeks in the area where he was eliminated, restricted Yahya Sinwar’s operational movement as he was pursued by the forces and led to his elimination,” the statement continued.
In his post on X, Johnson pushed the Biden administration to “work in tandem with Israel to apply a maximum pressure campaign against the head of the snake: Iran.”
“We cannot let this moment go to waste,” he added.
Both President Biden and Vice President Harris said Sinwar's death could help bring an end to the war in Gaza.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in his speech on Sinwar's death that the war "is not over yet."
The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.