‘Bomb Gaza For Your Survival, You Can’t Afford To Lose’

Israel cannot afford to be defeated in the ongoing war with Hamas, says a United States lawmaker, Senator Lindsey Graham.

The lawmaker stressed the importance for Israel to take all necessary actions for its survival.

Drawing a parallel to historical events, Graham highlighted the justification behind the US decision to deploy nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.

Naija News understands that the US lawmaker made these remarks during an interview with NBC News on Sunday.

Graham, a Republican Senator from South Carolina, expressed his unwavering support for Israel and urged the country to persevere in its military efforts despite facing mounting international criticism.

He attributed the majority of civilian casualties in Gaza to Hamas and called for Israel to press on until achieving a definitive triumph, regardless of the challenges faced.

“When we were faced with destruction as a nation after Pearl Harbor, fighting the Germans and the Japanese, we decided to end the war by the bombing [of] Hiroshima [and] Nagasaki with nuclear weapons.

“That was the right decision,” Graham said.

He added, “Give Israel the bombs they need to end the war. They can’t afford to lose.”

Graham reiterated his stance by drawing upon the analogy on multiple occasions, criticizing President Joe Biden for his potential decision to withhold specific weapons from Israel in the event of a military operation in Rafah, a city in Gaza where a significant number of civilians seek refuge.

When questioned about the contrasting treatment of President Ronald Reagan’s decision to withhold certain weapons from Israel during the Lebanon war in the 1980s, Graham once again referred to World War II.

“Can I say this?” the US lawmaker asked. “Why is it OK for America to drop two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end their existential threat war? Why was it OK for us to do that? I thought it was OK.”

“So, Israel, do whatever you have to do to survive as a Jewish state. Whatever you have to do,” he added.

Remarking on the statement earlier by the U.S. military officials that technology has vastly changed since World War II, a point he made earlier in the interview as well, Graham answered, “Yeah, these military officials that you’re talking about are full of crap.”

Graham firmly asserts that Hamas bears responsibility for the civilian casualties witnessed during the entire conflict.

His remark was coming after Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined the program and declined to identify a “red line” with Israel, telling the anchor: “Absent a credible plan to get [civilians] out of harm’s way and to support them, the president’s been clear for some time that we couldn’t and would not support a major military operation in Rafah.”

It is worth noting that Blinken had earlier discussed U.S. concerns about the use of “high-payload” bombs, saying, “We have been holding back and we’re in active conversations with Israel about the provision of heavy or high-payload weapons, large bombs, because of the concern that we have about the effect these weapons can have when they’re used in a dense urban environment like Rafah.”