Trump makes no mention of aid workers killed in Gaza and lashes out at Biden over Israel

Donald Trump criticised President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict and seemingly stepped back his support for the country as they wage war in Gaza – but made no mention of the seven World Central Kitchen workers killed by Isaraeli airstrikes on Wednesday.

In an interview with Hugh Hewitt on Thursday, the former president asserted that Mr Biden was “grossly incompetent” – citing the chaotic withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan – and advised Israel not to follow the president’s advice as tensions heat up between Israel and the US.

“I wouldn’t listen to them. I wouldn’t take any instruction from them. Israel knows what they’re doing,” Mr Trump said.

Instead, the former president suggested Israel should “get it over with” and warned that they were “losing the PR war” by continuing to attack Gaza in their pursuit of Hamas.

“What I said very plainly is get it over with, and let’s get back to peace and stop killing people. And that’s a very simple statement. Get it over with. They’ve got to finish what they finish. They have to get it done. Get it over with, and get it over with fast, because we have to, you have to get back to normalcy and peace,” Mr Trump said.

Mr Trump, typically a fervent supporter of Israel, seemed more apprehensive to throw “100 per cent” support behind Israel. He told Mr Hewitt he wasn’t sure if he was “loving the way [Israel’s] doing it.”

Criticism of Israel’s handling of the war has been mounting over the last few months as more innocent civilians die and Gaza faces dire threats of starvation and disease. Mr Biden, who also supported Israel at the start of the conflict, recently warned Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to protect aid workers and civilians after the death of a Canadian-American aid worker.

More than 30,000 civilians in Gaza have died since the start of the conflict on 7 October.

Despite no mention of civilian or aid workers’ deaths, or holding Israel directly responsible, Mr Trump’s words were an apparent departure from the long-held view that he and many other Republicans have held for years.

But in true Trump fashion, the former president quickly pivoted back to blaming Mr Biden for “the whole world blowing up”, calling him the “most corrupt”, “dumbest” and “most incompetent” president.

Mr Trump often asserts that world conflicts, like the one in Gaza or Ukraine, would have “never happened” if he were president.