Trump Suggests Allowing Israel-Hamas Conflict to “Play Out”

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump stated that there should be no intervention in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, expressing that “You’re probably going to have to let it play out because a lot of people are dying.”

Trump made these remarks during an interview with Univision, which aired on Thursday night. He addressed the question of what could be done to stop the killing of civilians amid Israel’s efforts to eliminate Hamas.

“So you have a war that’s going on and you’re probably going to have to let this play out,” Trump told Univision. “You’re probably going to have to let it play out because a lot of people are dying. It should have never started.”

Regarding the images coming out of Gaza, Trump commented, “It’s horrible on both sides.”

Trump’s assessment comes as there are global calls for a cease-fire. Israel has resisted these calls until all of the hostages are released by Hamas. However, Israel has agreed to four-hour pauses to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. The Biden administration has called for these pauses but has not publicly pushed Israel for a cease-fire.

Trump blamed Iran for the massacre carried out by Hamas on Israel starting on Oct. 7. Hamas killed 1,400 individuals, with roughly 800 of those being civilians.

“There was no way it would have started again. Iran didn’t have the money because Iran is leading this. And only fools would say that’s not true. They’re leading this. They’re very tricky, very smart, very cunning. They’re leading it, and it’s got to end,” Trump said.

“But this is a war that’s going to breed hatred between two sides. They say in history there’s never been hatred like this. It’s been going on for a long time,” Trump added.

“The hatred is so incredible,” Trump continued. “They learn to hate Jewish people in the earliest forms of school, whatever their form of school is, but, you know, hate Israel hatred. It’s very hard.

“There is no hatred like the Palestinian hatred of Israel and Jewish people. And probably the other way around too, I don’t know. You know, it’s not as obvious, but probably that’s it, too. So sometimes you have to let things play out, and you have to see where it ends.”

Last month, Trump received criticism when he referred to Hezbollah, the terrorist group of Lebanon to Israel’s north, as “very smart.”