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Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) National President Morton A. Klein released the following statement:
In a CNN interview on October 5, 2025, Jake Tapper asked President Trump, “What happens if Hamas insists on staying in power in Gaza?”
President Trump responded: “Complete obliteration!” That’s the exact right response that Israel and the entire region needs to assure peace in the Middle East.
And on October 16, 2025, President Trump posted on Truth Social:
“If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them!”
And on October 14, 2025, U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner (Pres. Trump’s mechuten) stated: “From the beginning, President Donald Trump made two principles unmistakably clear. First, Israel has an absolute right to defend itself — not a conditional one, not subject to foreign approval.”
During the few short days since the ceasefire deal began, commencing on day one, Hamas has violated the ceasefire deal multiple times and insisted on staying in power. First, instead of disarming, Hamas immediately reconstituted itself. Hamas recalled and recruited 7,000 troops and replenished itself with terrorists released from Israeli jails. Second, Hamas immediately sent civilians and then terrorists to attempt to attack Israeli troops at the “yellow line” behind which Israel retreated. Third, Hamas has been publicly executing and slaughtering hundreds of rivals – using the pretext that they are Israeli collaborators. Fourth, Hamas has failed to return approximately 15 of the bodies of Israelis that it murdered and held in Gaza. Fifth, Hamas has commandeered Gazan schools and hospitals, and is using them to interrogate opponents. Sixth, Hamas is summoning employees of aid agencies to obtain information to enable Hamas to retake control of humanitarian aid supplies.
Seventh and worst of all for brave Israeli soldiers and their families who have already suffered so much to try to end Hamas’ brutal terrorism, on Sunday (October 19), in Rafah, Hamas terrorists emerged from tunnels and shot anti-tank missiles and sniper fire at Israelis, murdering two young Israeli soldiers – Yaniv Kula (age 21) and Itay Yavetz (age 26), and injuring three Israelis, including severely wounding an Israeli reservist. Eighth, yesterday (Monday, October 20), three Hamas terrorists, and later additional Hamas terrorists crossed the yellow line in the Shuja’iyya area, threatening Israeli troops and again violating the ceasefire.
Every single day of delay prior to obliterating Hamas enables Hamas to further reorganize, further strengthen itself, solidify its control over Gaza, terrorize and murder more Palestinian opponents, and launch more deadly attacks against the Jewish State of Israel’s citizens.
ZOA thus strongly urges the Administration not to delay supporting what has become inevitable and necessary, namely, Israel going in and obliterating Hamas.
When Maria Bartiromo asked during an October 16, 2025 interview, “Is there a timeline to get Hamas to disarm, in your mind?” President Trump correctly explained that Hamas is replacing its fighters with young new terrorists, but responded: “. . . it’s not a hard timeline, but it’s a line in my own mind. And at a certain point, if they don’t do what they’re supposed to do, then we’ll have to do it for them.” ZOA urges the president to make that line now.
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