On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Source,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) responded to a question on what Israel should do given the Hamas fighters in Rafah and Hamas holding hostages by stating that it’s “a difficult issue” and “you’ve got to go after Hamas, but no, you cannot continue, literally, almost to destroy the entire people in that region.”
After Sanders praised President Joe Biden for threatening to withhold some weapons from Israel if they go into Rafah’s population centers but said he would go further and not give Israel a dime if he continues the “incredibly destructive war,” host Kaitlan Collins asked, “[S]ome other people who view this differently than you do may look at it and say, well, President Biden has also said Israel should do what it takes to defeat Hamas. And the IDF says that there are Hamas battalions in Rafah, that Yahya Sinwar, a key leader of Hamas, is there, hostages are there. So, I think some people may hear this and say, well, what should Israel do?”
Sanders responded, “Look, it is a difficult issue. Hamas is a very difficult enemy to fight. They are a terrorist group, they use civilian shields, it is true. But look, what America cannot and must not be part of, is literally the destruction of all of Gaza. The infrastructure, education, the healthcare system decimated, and so many women and children who are killed. So, yes, you’ve got to go after Hamas, but no, you cannot continue, literally, almost to destroy the entire people in that region.”
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