Ron DeSantis slams Trump for praising ‘Hezbollah’ terrorists as ‘very smart’ during campaign rally in Florida as ex-president criticizes Netanyahu for ‘letting him down’ by not participating in Soleimani operation
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis criticized Donald Trump for praising ‘Hezbollah’ terrorists and criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
At a rally in Florida on Wednesday, Trump told a crowd of supporters that “Netanyahu let us down, it was a very terrible thing” for not taking part in the Soleimani operation in which a US airstrike killed the Iranian killed General Qassem Soleimani in January 2020.
The former president then declared that Lebanese Hezbollah terrorists are ‘viscous and clever’ and that Israel must ‘strengthen’ itself.
The Republican nomination hopeful wrote on X in response: ‘Terrorists have killed at least 1,200 Israelis and 22 Americans and are holding more hostage, so it is absurd that anyone, much less someone running for president, would now choose to kill our friend and attacking ally, Israel, much less praising Hezbollah terrorists as “very smart”.
“As president, I will stand with Israel and treat terrorists like the scum they are,” he added.
The former president then declared that Lebanese Hezbollah terrorists are ‘viscous and clever’ and that Israel must ‘strengthen’ itself.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis criticized Donald Trump for praising ‘Hezbollah’ terrorists and criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
On Sunday, Trump said Hamas’ bloody attack on Israel was an “act of cruelty that must be crushed” and blamed Joe Biden for being a weak and ineffective leader.
“The terrorist invasion of Israeli territory and the killing of Israeli soldiers and civilians is an act of cruelty that must, and will, be crushed and avenged,” he said.
Adds: ‘The Israeli attack was made because we are perceived as weak and ineffective and with a very weak leader.’
The spat comes as President Biden has pledged America’s unwavering support for Israel in the wake of devastating terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas.
On Wednesday, Biden called the Hamas attack on Israel “the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust” and a campaign of “pure brutality,” adding again that the United States stands firmly with Israel.
The death toll now stands at 1,200 in Israel, including 14 Americans, and another 1,100 in Gaza.
Hamas has reportedly taken 150 hostages, including Americans, and is threatening to execute them if Israel launches a ground invasion of Gaza.
Biden said that the United States is working feverishly to try to secure the release of the hostages.
“As president, I will stand with Israel and treat terrorists like the scum they are,” DeSantis wrote on Twitter.
Joe Biden is seen during a roundtable discussion with leaders in the Jewish community in the Indian Treaty Room at the White House on Wednesday
Hamas left a trail of destruction at a series of kibbutzim near the border with Gaza, including children’s beds soaked in blood.
Troops remove the bodies of victims killed during an attack by Hamas terrorists in Kfar Aza on Tuesday
The body of a woman is covered with a blanket in Kfar Azza
“We are working on every aspect of the hostage crisis in Israel, including deploying experts to advise and assist in recovery efforts,” he said.
“Now, the press is going to yell at me: what are you doing to bring these people home? If I told you, I wouldn’t be able to get them home.
‘Man, there’s a lot we do, a lot we do.
‘I haven’t given up on bringing these people home.
‘But the idea that I’m going to stand here in front of you and tell you what I do is bizarre. So, I hope you understand how bizarre I think it would be to try to answer that question.’
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby was asked at an earlier briefing whether the administration was in direct or indirect contact with Hamas to secure their release, and whether he could describe their condition.
“Now where they are and in what condition, no,” says Kirby.
He said the White House does not know if they are being kept together or if they are being moved around.
A baby seat and a child’s dress are spattered in blood in the aftermath of the attack
Gunshots and bloodstains lie on the walls and door of a house in the kibbutz near the border with Gaza
‘Unfortunately we don’t know. And that makes efforts very, very difficult.’
He also told ABC White House correspondent Mary Alice Parks that he was ‘not aware of any specific evidence of life on any individual hostage.’
Kirby added that the US is in talks with countries that have lines of communication with Hamas, such as Qatar, to discuss how to free the hostages. Several former senior Hamas leaders live in Qatar.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Hamas militants beheaded soldiers and raped women in their attack on Israel.
In a televised late-night address, Netanyahu detailed some of the atrocities that took place during the attack.
He said boys and girls were shot in the head and that people were burned alive.
Netanyahu compared Hamas to ISIS, and vowed that Israel’s retaliation against the terror group ‘will reverberate with them for generations’.