Former US president Donald Trump's consistent message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the ongoing Gaza war has been that Israel should get it done quickly, declare victory, and then walk away.
The Republican presidential nominee was questioned by reporters at a New Jersey press event Thursday whether he has called for Netanyahu to achieve ceasefire with Hamas in their private conversations. Trump revealed that when he met Netanyahu last month at his Florida Mar-a-Lago estate he told the Israeli leader to swiftly "get your victory" because the "killing has to stop" in Gaza.
However, Trump denied pressing Netanyahu for a ceasefire and asserted that Netanyahu "knows what he’s doing." Trump has heaped criticism on VP Kamala Harris precisely for openly urging a quick ceasefire.
"I did encourage him to get this over with. You want to get it over with fast. Have victory, get your victory, and get it over with. It has to stop, the killing has to stop," Trump added, positing a big of a significant caveat.
Trump spelling out that the "killing has to stop" is the closest he has come to criticizing the way Israel is executing the war in Gaza.
"From the start, Harris has worked to tie Israel’s hand behind its back, demanding an immediate ceasefire, always demanding ceasefire," Trump said at the New Jersey event. He added that it "would only give Hamas time to regroup and launch a new October 7 style attack."
"I will give Israel the support that it needs to win but I do want them to win fast," Trump added. But the fact remains that Hamas as a guerrilla force is able to utilize networks of tunnels which are seemingly endless, making a protracted conflict inevitable if Tel Aviv really hopes to fully eradicate Hamas, which some IDF generals have said is impossible.
All of this comes the same week that the Gaza Health Ministry has announced over 40,000 dead in Gaza since last October. Israel has consistently disputed these figures, saying they are inflated that at least 17,000 of the dead were Hamas terrorists.
There has been some tensions and awkward back-and-forth this week between Netanyahu's office and the Trump campaign, after Axios reported that Netanyahu's office "said in a statement Thursday that he did not speak with former President Donald Trump on Wednesday to discuss the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal."
News of the alleged phone call has stirred controversy, with some accusing Trump of circumventing proper government channels related to representing US foreign policy at a sensitive moment...
This after Axios earlier reported that the two had a secretive phone call to discuss the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, according to two US officials. But the Trump team neither confirmed nor denied, and didn't issue comment.