By Darren Lyn
HOUSTON, United States (AA) - Five Republican hopefuls took center stage at Wednesday night's third presidential debate in Miami, Florida, again without former President Donald Trump in attendance, but that did not stop the field from addressing the world’s top foreign policy issue – the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
All five candidates showed their unanimous support for Israel after Palestinian group Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, yet none addressed the plight of Palestinians killed in Israel's strikes, which this week climbed to more than 10,000, including over 4,000 children.
"They're massacring innocent people, they would wipe out every Jew," said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – generally running a very distant second to Trump in the Republican polls – referring to Hamas. "I would tell Bibi (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu), finish the job once and for all with these butchers," he added, echoing the warmongering rhetoric of several Israeli officials.
"Wipe Hamas off the map," said South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott. "Diplomacy only is a weak strategy … You cannot negotiate with evil. You have to destroy it."
"Finish them. Finish them," former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley – running third or even with DeSantis in most polls – said of Hamas. "Support Israel with whatever they need, whenever they need it."
"America is here, no matter what it is you need," said former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on his support for Israel and Netanyahu.
"I would go one step further. I would tell Bibi that Israel has the right and responsibility to protect itself," said tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
The candidates were not as united in their take on the Russia-Ukraine war, with Haley, Scott and Christie expressing overall support for Ukraine.
"We should give them the equipment, the ammunition to win," said Haley, who said US support for Ukraine is a way to deter worldwide aggression.
"Every day, we get closer to the degradation of the Russian military, and that's good news," said Scott, who emphasized there should be more transparency and accountability when it comes to how Ukraine uses US funding.
"This is not a choice. This is the price we pay for being leaders of the free world," said Christie, who compared Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Adolf Hitler's military offensive leading up to World War II.
DeSantis stayed on the fence, expressing skepticism about some of the funding the US has sent Ukraine but maintaining that "we need to bring this war to an end."
Ramaswamy took his stance to the opposite end of the spectrum, accusing Ukraine of harboring Nazism and anti-democratic beliefs, a view shared by Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also suggested that some areas of Ukraine occupied by Russia should remain in Moscow's hands and said that this is not "some kind of battle between good versus evil.
Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, held his own rally in Miami not far from where the five candidates were sparring for second place. He has skipped all of the debates so far and also has no plans to attend the fourth debate.
While Trump did not mention Tuesday's elections in a number of US states, which saw many Republicans lose several high-profile races, including candidates endorsed by the former president, he was adamant in his assertion he is the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee.
"Our country has never needed Donald Trump more than it does now," he said.