Trump says Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack was horrific, but Israel must end Gaza war

Trump was also asked how he would react if his family members were victims of Hamas atrocities.

Jerusalem:

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he would respond as Israel did after the Oct. 7 attack on Hamas, but that Israel is losing international support and should end its war against the Islamist group in Gaza.

Trump said Hamas’s massacre in southern Israel was “one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen.”

“That being said, you’ve got to end your war. You’ve got to end it, you’ve got to finish it,” he said.

The former US president made the remarks in an interview with Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom on Monday. A video of the interview is posted on the newspaper’s website.

The attack on October 7 triggered a war in Gaza that has lasted for nearly six months. Israel says its offensive will continue until Hamas is destroyed and its hostages in Gaza are released.

Israel plans to expand its operations into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have taken refuge, sparking a feud with the Biden administration, which says doing so would be a mistake.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he would not send a delegation to Washington to discuss the planned Rafah operation after the United States did not veto a UN Security Council proposal calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Trump was also asked how he would react if his family members were victims of Hamas atrocities.

“I would say I behaved in a very similar way to you. You would have to be crazy to do that. Only a fool would not do that. It was a horrific attack,” he said. “It bothers me a lot when I see people, instead of talking about October 7, they talk about how aggressive Israel is.”

According to Israeli statistics, Hamas-led attacks killed 1,200 people and resulted in more than 250 people being taken hostage. Since then, Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed more than 32,000 people, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry.

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