WASHINGTON — Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday that he believes there is no way for Israel to safely negotiate an end to the war with Hamas and that Israel would take over Gaza, comparing the move to U.S. actions at the end of World War II.
Graham said he believed Israel has concluded “that they can’t achieve a goal of ending the war with Hamas that would be satisfactory to the safety of Israel.”
“I think President Trump has come to believe, and I certainly have come to believe, there’s no way you’re going to negotiate an end of this war with Hamas,” Graham said.
“They’re going to do in Gaza what we did in Tokyo and Berlin, take the place by force and start over again, presenting a better future for the Palestinians, hopefully having the Arabs take over the West Bank and Gaza,” he later added.
His comments come as Israel is facing mounting international pressure over a growing hunger crisis in Gaza, where at least 133 people have died by starvation, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. On Sunday, Israel announced a pause in fighting in parts of Gaza to facilitate aid delivery.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously said that Israel was “moving toward full control” of Gaza. Ceasefire discussions have stalled in recent days, and the White House’s special envoy Steve Witkoff last week brought home the U.S. negotiating team, which had been participating in talks in Qatar.
Asked whether a takeover of Gaza would mean hostages would not come home alive, Graham said, “I hope not.”
“I think there are people maybe in the Hamas organization that would accept safe passage if they release the hostages,” Graham said. “If I were Israel, I’d make that offer to Hamas fighters: ‘You can leave safely. We want our hostages back.’”
Graham continues advocating for special counsel to investigate Obama claims
Graham on Sunday advocated for a special counsel to investigate Republicans’ claims that President Barack Obama tried to influence an intelligence assessment about Russian interference in the 2016 election.
These claims came to the fore last week when Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard alleged during a press briefing that the former president participated in a “treasonous conspiracy” to harm Trump’s campaign.
Obama spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush has said that the “bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.” NBC News has also reported that former CIA officer Susan Miller, who helped lead the team that produced a report on Russia’s actions during the 2016 election, defended the report and said the White House was “lying” about it.
Graham said Sunday that “the best way to handle this is if there is evidence of a crime being committed, or suspected evidence of a crime being committed, create a special counsel to look at it.”
A special counsel had previously been appointed during the first Trump administration to examine the origins of the Russia probe, and in 2023, then-special counsel John Durham argued that certain FBI personnel “displayed a serious lack of analytical rigor toward the information they received.”
A 2020 Senate report backed up the assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, with the then-chair of the Senate intelligence committee, a Republican, saying: “The Committee found no reason to dispute the Intelligence Community’s conclusions.”
In recent days, critics have accused Republicans of trying to turn the spotlight on Obama to distract from mounting criticism of the White House’s handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein.
Asked whether he was trying to rewrite history to distract from the Epstein news, Graham said: “At the end of the day, I’m not calling for prosecution against President Obama for treason, but I am calling for an investigation.”
