“They’re going to do in Gaza what we did in Tokyo and Berlin,” US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) said in an interview with NBC on Sunday, adding that he hoped for a “better future for the Palestinians,” which would potentially see “the Arabs take over the West Bank and Gaza.”
The world can expect to see a change in strategy regarding Israel’s war in Gaza, Graham said.
The interview came following US President Donald Trump’s call for Israel to “finish the job” and Israel and the US recalling hostage delegations after claiming Hamas would not take negotiations seriously.
“I think President Trump has come to believe, and I’ve certainly come to believe, there’s no way you’re going to negotiate an end to this war with Hamas,” Graham said.
“Hamas is a terrorist organization that is chartered to destroy the State of Israel. They’re religious Nazis. They hold Israeli hostages. I think Israel has come to conclude that it can’t achieve a goal of ending the war with Hamas that would be satisfactory to the safety of Israel.”
Despite this, he noted, Israel plans to collaborate with the United Nations and the World Food Programme to ensure that food and aid reach those who need it within the Gaza Strip.
Graham expresses hope over return of hostages
When asked if he believed the hostages could return alive if Israel moved forward as he has detailed, Graham expressed hope.
“I think there are people, maybe, in the Hamas organization that would accept safe passage if they released the hostages,” he said, suggesting Israel should present the offer to the terrorist organization.
“Hamas could end this tomorrow by laying down its weapons and releasing the hostages. There is no future for the Palestinian people as long as Hamas is around.
“So all I can say is that you’re going to see, I think, in the next days and weeks, a military effort to destroy Hamas, akin to what we did in Tokyo and Berlin to destroy the Nazis and the Japanese.”