Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley called on Israel to destroy Hamas after the Islamic terrorist group killed hundreds of Israeli citizens over the weekend in a terror attack that was unprecedented in scale.
The GOP presidential candidate made the remarks during an interview on Fox News after images of the attacks circulated on social media and the news for the entire day.
“Let’s step back because I want the American people to kind of take this in for a second,” she said. “Just imagine that here, the Israelis woke up, and communities were bombarded. Families were murdered. Women and children were taken hostage, dragged through the streets. The elderly were taken. All of this has happened in front of everyone, on top of thousands of rockets that hit Israel.”
Haley said that what happened “should be personal for every woman and man in America” because “when they did this, when they did this surprise attack, when they took these hostages, when they murdered these families, they were celebrating.”
“And what were they celebrating? They were saying, ‘Death to Israel, Death to America,'” she said. “This is not just an attack on Israel. This is an attack on America because they hate us just as much. And what we have to understand is, this is the reason that we have to unite around making sure our enemies do not hurt our friends.”
“America can never be so arrogant to think we don’t need friends, just like we needed them on 9/11,” she continued. “That’s why Ukraine needs us when Russia is doing this. That’s why Israel needs us when Hamas and Iran are doing this. And I’ll say this to Prime Minister Netanyahu, finish them. Finish them. Hamas did this. You know Iran’s behind it, finish them. They should have hell to pay for what they’ve just done.”
WATCH:
This is not just an attack on Israel—this was an attack on America.
Finish them, @Netanyahu.
They should have hell to pay for what they have just done. pic.twitter.com/0KKDwvOITS
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) October 8, 2023