Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham told Newsmax that the Palestine Liberation Organization ignoring President Joe Biden's trip to the Middle East was "a big mistake."
Biden "wants to talk to the Palestinians. Them not wanting to talk to the president is a big mistake," the South Carolina lawmaker said Tuesday on "Eric Bolling The Balance."
"We're going to destroy Hamas. I've told all the Arab governments in the region ... Israel will destroy Hamas, and that's non-negotiable," he continued. "How they do it is subject to negotiation."
Specifically, Graham said engagements between the Biden administration and Palestinian leaders could yield positive developments in mitigating civilian casualties during Israel's retaliation.
"To my Palestinian friends: do not let Hamas get away with this," the senator stressed.
Biden intends to make the high-stakes trip to Israel on Wednesday. He initially intended also to visit Jordan to participate in a discussion on Gaza alongside Egyptian and Palestinian leaders.
However, Jordan canceled the meeting Tuesday after a blast at a Gazan hospital killed around 500 Palestinians. Israel and Hamas have both denied responsibility for the attack, and it is currently unclear what transpired.
The war between Israel and Hamas started on Oct. 7 after a group of Hamas militants carried out a planned terrorist attack in southern Israel that killed hundreds of civilians.
In the time since, Israeli authorities estimate that over 1,400 individuals have been killed in their territories, and at least 4,121 have been wounded. Another 200 have been taken hostage.
Palestinian authorities, meanwhile, put their death toll at over 3,000 in the Gaza Strip and at least 61 in the West Bank. More than 12,800 are wounded across both regions.
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