Current:Home > NewsGOP hopeful Chris Christie visits Israel, says the US must show solidarity in war against Hamas -前500条预览:
GOP hopeful Chris Christie visits Israel, says the US must show solidarity in war against Hamas
View
Date:2025-04-18 06:20:21
KFAR AZZA, Israel (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Chris Christie on Sunday visited Israel, expressing solidarity in Israel’s war against Hamas and saying the U.S. must stand “shoulder to shoulder” with its close ally.
Christie toured a kibbutz that was ravaged in the Oct. 7 rampage by Hamas militants that triggered the war and was meeting Israeli leaders during his one-day visit. The former New Jersey governor is the first candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination to visit Israel.
“I came here because I wanted to see this for myself,” Christie said during a tour of Kfar Azza, one of more than 20 towns and villages attacked by Hamas militants on Oct. 7. Israel says over 1,200 people were killed and 239 others are being held hostage in Gaza.
“To be able to walk through a neighborhood like this and see what was done to the people, to still be able to walk into one of these homes and smell the death still, a month later, is something that I think the American people need to know.”
Christie, the 2024 race’s most vocal critic of former president, Donald J. Trump, has cast himself as the only Republican willing to directly take him on. Trump has not visited Israel during the current campaign cycle, though President Joe Biden has.
The Republican candidates have all lined up behind Israel, even as the country comes under growing international pressure to halt or scale back an offensive in the Gaza Strip in which over 11,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed.
“I want the people of Israel to know that there are hundreds and millions of Americans who stand with them,” said Christie, “who understand the atrocities that were committed, and why in the future we need to stand absolutely shoulder to shoulder with Israel.”
Christie has positioned himself as someone who if elected would defend U.S. interests and democracy abroad. He has previously visited Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The trip marks his second trip to a warring country since the start of his presidential bid, after a visit to Ukraine in August.
By far the most strident critic of Trump in the Republican field, Christie has consistently been in the low single digits in national polls, far behind the former president.
veryGood! (451)
Related
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Arrest made in 2001 cold case murder of University of Georgia law student Tara Baker
- Woman gets 2 life sentences in 2021 murders of father, his longtime girlfriend
- Pioneering Financial Innovation: Wilbur Clark and the Ascendance of the FB Finance Institute
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Controversy follows Gov. Kristi Noem as she is banned by two more South Dakota tribes
- Before arrest, US soldier’s relationship with Russian girlfriend turned bloody, wife says
- Boxing announcer fails, calls the wrong winner in Nina Hughes-Cherneka Johnson bout
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- Starbucks offering half-off drinks on Fridays, more deals during month of May
Ranking
- Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
- How Summer House: Martha's Vineyard's Jasmine Cooper Found Support as a New Mom
- Is grapefruit good for you? The superfood's health benefits, explained.
- Putin in Cabinet shakeup moves to replace defense minister as he starts his 5th term in office
- Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
- 16-year-old dies, others injured in a shooting at a large house party in Northborough
- Can you eat cicadas? Try these tasty recipes with Brood XIX, Brood XIII this summer
- Honolulu agrees to 4-month window to grant or deny gun carrying licenses after lawsuit over delays
Recommendation
Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
WFI Tokens: Pioneering Innovation in the Financial Sector
Putin in Cabinet shakeup moves to replace defense minister as he starts his 5th term in office
$2M exclusive VIP package offered for Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight: What it gets you
Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
Federal judge blocks White House plan to curb credit card late fees
A critically endangered newborn addax now calls Disney's Animal Kingdom home: Watch video
US says Israel’s use of US arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete