Noted Indian Americans, including two Republican presidential hopefuls, Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy, have backed Israel in the aftermath of unprecedented attacks on it by the Hamas militant group, which has killed hundreds.
On Saturday, the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas launched a barrage of rocket assaults in southern Israel, killing over 600 people, including soldiers, and injuring over 1,900.
In response, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) began a series of airstrikes against Hamas’ critical infrastructure. Approximately 1,000 people have been verified dead in Israel and Gaza in the greatest escalation between the two sides in decades.
“Hamas and their backers, the Iranian regime, were shouting ‘Death to Israel, Death to America.'” That is what we must keep in mind. “We are united with Israel because Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and their Iranian backers despise us,” Republican presidential candidate Haley said on Sunday to NBC News.
“We need to keep in mind that what happened in Israel might occur here in America.” “And I hope we as a nation can all come together and support Israel right now,” she said.
Haley warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “finish them (Hamas)” in a post on X.
Hamas is a militant Palestinian Islamist organisation that has dominated the Gaza Strip since 2007. The Gaza Strip has a population of around 2.3 million people. It is a 41-kilometer-long, 10-kilometer-wide region bounded by Israel, Egypt, and the Mediterranean Sea.
When she was the US ambassador to the UN, Haley stated she presented a resolution condemning Hamas.
“America was the only Security Council member to vote in favour of it.” This is what Israel faces in a world that rejects the horror that is in front of them.”We didn’t give in to international demand then, and we won’t now,” she went on to say.
Another Indian American Republican candidate Ramaswamy stated that the attack on Israel taught America that it cannot be complacent in defending its own borders.
“Whatever can happen there, can happen here.” Right now, our own border is nearly entirely permeable. The Southern Border is a mess, and I just returned from the Northern Border, which is wide open for invasion. “Hamas chose a time when Israel is deeply split over domestic politics, as we are right now,” he went on to say.
“Our own foreign policy establishment has given preference to distant foreign priorities, leaving us unprotected on border defence, cyber and super-EMP defence, nuclear missile defence, and space-based defences.” We must not lose sight of this, and the assaults on Israel should serve as a wake-up call here at home,” Ramaswamy said on Sunday.
Mukesh Aghi, president and CEO of the US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF), tweeted on the social networking platform X on Sunday, “I stand with Israel” with the Indian flag in the background.
According to Bharat Barai, an Indian Indian-American community leader, Hamas and Hezbollah are the world’s most cruel terrorist outfits.
“Israel has every right to destroy this brutal terrorist organisation that has attacked Israel, murdered, abducted, raped, and tortured innocent Israeli citizens.” “The civilised world as a whole must condemn Hamas and other similar barbarians,” he stated.
Hamas’ terrorist strikes on Israelis are “horrific,” according to community leader Ajay Jain Bhutoria.
“I support Israel’s unwavering right to self-defence.” My thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the awful atrocities, including the alleged hostages and hundreds of injured people. “I vehemently condemn the terrorist attacks on Israel,” he stated.
