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Hamas says Trump to be tested on pledge to stop war

Following Donald Trump’s election victory, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri called on him to “learn from [President Joe] Biden’s mistakes.”

Hamas Summer Camp, Khan Yunis
A member of the Hamas terrorist organization at a military-style summer camp in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90.

A senior Hamas official said on Wednesday that following Donald Trump’s election victory, he will be tested on previous statements that he can stop the war in Gaza.

“We urge Trump to learn from [President Joe] Biden’s mistakes,” Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters on Wednesday.

In an interview with Israel Hayom in March, Trump said that he supported Israel’s defensive war against Hamas and that he would have responded to Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack much the way Israel had. At the same time, he warned that the longer the war dragged on, the worse things would get for Israel.

“You have to finish up your war. To finish it up. You gotta get it done. And I am sure you will do that,” he said. “And we gotta get to peace, we can’t have this going on. And I will say, Israel has to be very careful, because you’re losing a lot of the world, you’re losing a lot of support, you have to finish up, you have to get the job done. And you have to get on to peace, to get on to a normal life for Israel, and for everybody else,” he added.

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