WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Thursday issued the following statement on the death of Yahya Sinwar, leader of Hamas:

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a war criminal who masterminded the brutal October 7th terrorist attack that killed 1,200 innocent people and took 250 hostages, is now dead.

There is now no justification for Prime Minister Netanyahu and his extremist government to continue their all-out war against the Palestinian people, which has killed 42,000 Palestinians and injured 100,000 – two-thirds of whom are women, children, and the elderly.

There is no justification for continuing to deny humanitarian aid to the many thousands of children in Gaza who are starving.

There is no justification for continuing to destroy the housing, health care, and infrastructure of Gaza.

There is now no justification for further delaying a hostage deal and a ceasefire.

And there is absolutely no justification for continued U.S. support for Netanyahu’s horrific policies, which are in clear violation of U.S. and international law.

When Congress returns, the Senate will be voting on my Joint Resolutions of Disapproval to block offensive arms sales to Israel. We must end our complicity in this cruel and illegal war.