US senator claims Israel has right to strike Gaza with nuclear weapon

By Seda Sevencan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Comparing Israel’s war on Gaza to the US atomic bombings of Japan during World War II, US Senator Lindsey Graham argued on Sunday that Israel should do whatever it has to do.

Speaking during an interview on NBC News’ Meet the Press, Graham said: “When we were faced with destruction as a nation after Pearl Harbor, fighting the Germans and the Japanese, we decided to end the war by the bombing Hiroshima, Nagasaki with nuclear weapons.”

“That was the right decision,” he added.

He further said: “Give Israel the bombs they need to end the war they can’t afford to lose and work with them to minimize casualties.”

Defending the US decision to drop an atomic bomb on Japan, Graham said “I thought it was okay” when the US dropped the nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end “their existential threat war.”

“To Israel, do whatever you have to do to survive as a Jewish state. Whatever you have to do.”

His remarks came after the US halted a sizeable weapons shipment to Israel because of worries about their potential use in Rafah, which is home to 1.5 million displaced Palestinians.

A US official, who requested anonymity, said the shipment included 1,800 bombs of 2,000 pounds (907 kilograms) and 1,700 bombs of 500 pounds (227 kilograms). The official stressed concern about the use of the 2,000-pound bombs in densely populated areas of Gaza, NBC news reported.

Israel has waged an unrelenting offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7 which killed some 1,200 people.

More than 35,000 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, mostly women and children, and 78,700 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Over seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.