Trump would handle war differently, says far-right Israeli minister

Top national security official says Biden hinders Israel war effort.

JERUSALEM — A far-right minister in Israel’s government has criticized President Joe Biden and said that having Donald Trump in power would allow more freedom to fight Hamas.

The comments sparked outrage among other Israeli officials Sunday and highlighted the sensitivity of relations as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits the region again this week.

The Biden administration has skirted Congress to rush weapons to Israel and shielded it from international calls for a ceasefire in the four months since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. The White House has urged Israel to take greater measures to avoid harming civilians and allow more aid to besieged Gaza.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that Biden was hindering Israel’s war effort.

“Instead of giving us his full backing, Biden is busy with giving humanitarian aid and fuel (to Gaza), which goes to Hamas,” Ben-Gvir said. “If Trump was in power, the U.S. conduct would be completely different.”

His remarks drew fire from Benny Gantz, a retired general and member of Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu’s three-man War Cabinet, who said Ben-Gvir was “causing tremendous damage” to U.S.-Israeli relations. Opposition leader Yair Lapid, also posting on X, said Ben-Gvir’s remarks prove that he “does not understand foreign relations.”

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned Ben-Gvir’s comments as “racist” and called for international sanctions against him, saying he threatens the region’s stability.

Netanyahu, without mentioning Ben-Gvir by name, appeared to refer to his remarks during a weekly Cabinet meeting. “I am not in need of any assistance in navigating our relations with the U.S. and the international community,” he said.

Ben-Gvir, along with other far right figures, has called for “voluntary” mass emigration of Palestinians from Gaza and the return of Jewish settlements, which Israel dismantled when it withdrew troops from the territory in 2005. The Biden administration opposes any such scenario.

Ben-Gvir and other key members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition have threatened to bring down the government if they believe the prime minister is too soft on Hamas.

Netanyahu said the military was carrying out “very aggressive raids” in northern and central Gaza while dealing with remaining Hamas battalions around Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah.

Israel’s military said Sunday it had raided the headquarters of Hamas’ brigade in Khan Younis in the south and found what it called training materials for the Oct. 7 attack, including “models simulating entrance gates of Israeli kibbutzim, military bases and IDF armored vehicles.”

The war has displaced 85% of Gaza’s population and pushed a quarter of residents to starvation.

The Health Ministry in Gaza said 127 bodies had been brought to hospitals in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall death toll to 27,365. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but says most of those killed are women and children.