Donald Trump says time for Israel to ‘finish up’ Gaza war

US presidential candidate says October 7 Hamas attack was brutal, but Israel is now losing international support.

Donald Trump, the former US president and Republican candidate in November’s election in the United States, has warned Israel it is losing international support and should “finish up” its war in Gaza.

Trump said that while he would have reacted the same way as Israel after Hamas’s October 7 attack, in which more than 1,000 people were killed and more than 200 taken captive, it was time to end the conflict.

More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its bombardment of the territory nearly six months ago.

“You have to finish up your war,” Trump told the Israel Hayom in an interview that the right-wing newspaper said had been recorded over the weekend. “You have to finish it up, you got to get it done.”

Trump’s comments were published after the United Nations Security Council voted for an immediate ceasefire. The measure passed after Washington abstained rather than using its veto.