The death of the leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, in an Israeli strike on Thursday has prompted calls for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Sinwar, named as the architect of the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas, was killed in southern Gaza by an Israeli strike. Hamas has been declared a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.

United States President Joe Biden told reporters late Thursday after arriving in Germany that now is the time for a cease-fire in Gaza and to "make sure we're moving in the right direction so we're in able to improve things for the whole world".

Biden emphasized, after a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that the time has come for the war to end and to return the hostages to their homes. We are ready to do this."

The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, and the Foreign Minister of Germany, Annalena Baerbock, called in communiqués for Hamas to release all hostages.

Italy's foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, said he hoped Sinwari's death would bring a ceasefire in Gaza.

While Israel has confirmed the killing of Sinwar, Hamas has not yet commented.

Sinwar was elected leader of the group after the killing of then-leader Ismael Haniyeh in July in a suspected Israeli attack in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Before becoming the leader of Hamas, Sinwar was the head of the group's armed wing.

During the October 7, 2023 attack, Hamas killed around 1.200 people – mostly civilians – in southern Israel and kidnapped around 250 others. This attack triggered the Israeli war in Gaza, where more than 42.000 Palestinians have been killed as a result.

Meanwhile, Biden emphasized that the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, will travel to the Middle East in the coming days to try to reach an agreement on the release of hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza.

However, Netanyahu has said that Israel will control Gaza as long as necessary to ensure that Hamas does not rearm.

"Hamas will no longer rule Gaza. Today begins the day after Hamas," Netanyahu said, adding that Israel will continue the war until all hostages are released.

"Our fight is not over yet", he added./REL/