Former President Donald Trump dubbed the nonstop video footage of bombings and buildings collapsing in Gaza as a “PR disaster” for Israel and urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the conflict swiftly.
Mr. Trump offered the advice for Mr. Netanyahu on the Hugh Hewitt radio show Thursday.
“You’ve got to get it over with, and you have to get back to normalcy. And I’m not sure that I’m loving the way they’re doing it, because you’ve got to have victory. You have to have a victory, and it’s taking a long time,” Mr. Trump said.
He said the other thing “I hate” about Israel’s strategy against Hamas is the constant release of video footage of buildings collapsing from airstrikes and shelling.
“I guess it makes them look tough, but to me, it doesn’t make them look tough,” Mr. Trump said. “They’re losing the PR war. They’re losing it big. But they’ve got to finish what they started, and they’ve got to finish it fast, and we have to get on with life.”
His latest criticism of Israel’s war against Hamas builds on comments he made last month calling the destruction of Gaza by Israel a “massive mistake.”
Scrutiny against Israel and Mr. Netanyahu continues to grow in Washington, where lawmakers once pledged complete support of the Jewish State in its quest to destroy Hamas after the Oct. 7 terror attack that killed over 1,200 people in Israel.
Criticism has grown following a drone strike that killed several humanitarian workers in Gaza working for the World Central Kitchen. The organization has accused Israel of deliberately targeting aid workers.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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