Sen. Lindsey Graham said President Trump and Israeli leaders do not believe a ceasefire deal with Hamas is possible and Israel will instead eliminate the terrorist organization and leave the West Bank and Gaza to the control of Arab nations.
Mr. Graham, South Carolina Republican, said Mr. Trump “has come to believe there is no way to negotiate an end to the war with Hamas.”
Mr. Graham made the comments on NBC’s “Meet the Press” amid growing international pressure on the Israeli government to do more to ease a severe food shortage in Gaza.
Mr. Trump has so far been unsuccessful in negotiating a sustained ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Hamas has, in the meantime, stolen tons of food meant for the Palestinian people in war-torn Gaza, while Israel has been accused of hindering efforts to bring more food to the region.
At the center of the conflict are the Israeli hostages Hamas has refused to release. Mr. Graham said individual deals with Hamas fighters that would provide their safe exit could lead to the release of some of them.
“I think Israel has come to conclude that they can’t achieve a goal of ending the war with Hamas that would be satisfactory to the safety of Israel, and they’re going to do in Gaza what we did in Tokyo and Berlin. Take the place by force, then start over again, presenting a better future for the Palestinians, hopefully having the Arabs take over the West Bank and Gaza,” Mr. Graham said.
Mr. Graham said new humanitarian corridors will be opened to provide food to the starving people in Gaza through the United Nations World Food Program.
He said Israel is eager to end the war after losing up to five soldiers a week.
“Going forward you’re going to see a change in tactics, a full military effort by Israel to take Gaza down like we did in Tokyo and Berlin,” Mr. Graham said.
Mr. Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with the Middle East fighting and the tactics of Hamas.
Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said the United States ended ceasefire talks with Hamas because the terrorist organization was not interested in making a deal.
“It was too bad. Hamas didn’t really want to make a deal,” Mr. Trump told reporters Friday before leaving for Scotland. “I think they want to die. And it’s very, very bad. It got to a point where you’re going to have to finish the job.”
Mr. Trump said Hamas didn’t want a peace agreement because “they know what happens after you get the final hostages.”
“They’re going to have to fight and they’re going to have to clean it up,” he said.
