(NewsNation) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a recent podcast interview that Hamas “probably” would not have attacked on Oct. 7, 2023, if President Donald Trump were in office.
“Probably not,” Netanyahu answered when asked by podcast host Patrick Bet-David if the Hamas attacks would have happened if President Trump were president instead of Joe Biden. “But it’s hard to say with these maniacs. I think Iran would have been more careful.”
The Hamas attacks were the first large-scale invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and initiated the ongoing Gaza war. Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Of the 50 remaining in Gaza, Israel believes around 20 are alive.
Israeli and U.S. officials were to meet Wednesday in Washington to discuss post-war Gaza, even as Israel’s military called the evacuation of Gaza City “inevitable” ahead of a new offensive, and no signs of a ceasefire were in sight.
The meeting comes amid mounting outrage over this week’s double Israeli strike on a southern Gaza hospital that killed journalists, emergency responders and others. The toll from the attack on Nasser Hospital rose to 22 after two more people died Wednesday, Gaza health officials said.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said three more adults died of causes related to malnutrition and starvation, bringing the malnutrition-related death toll to 186 since late June, when the ministry started to count fatalities in that category. The toll includes 117 children since the start of the war.
Israel’s military offensive has killed 62,819, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which says around half were women and children. The count does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.