• Trump claims Hamas’s attack on October 7 last year would not have occurred if he had been in the White House.
• Netanyahu, a Palestinian leader, is in the US to meet with lawmakers and Vice President Kamala Harris.
• Netanyahu’s speech sparked protests outside the US Capitol, with some Democrats boycotting it.

Donald Trump, the former US president and current Republican nominee for the White House, has told Israel to end the war in Gaza “quickly.” Ahead of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida on Friday, Trump told Fox News that the war needs to end “because Israel is getting decimated with this publicity, and you know Israel is not very good at public relations.”

The former president also claimed that Hamas’s attack on October 7 last year would not have occurred if he had been in the White House at the time.

Netanyahu is in the US to meet with lawmakers across the political spectrum. During his visit, he will also meet with President Joe Biden, who announced earlier in the week that he would not seek reelection, and with Vice President Kamala Harris, the new favorite for the Democratic candidacy for the White House.

Netanyahu addressed Congress on Wednesday, delivering a speech that sparked significant protests outside the US Capitol. Several prominent Democrats, including Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar, boycotted the speech, calling him “utterly immoral” and “cruel.”

As Netanyahu spoke, demonstrators burned flags outside, including the US flag, which Trump condemned.

“You should get a one-year jail sentence if you do anything to desecrate the American flag,” he told Fox News. “Now, people will say, ‘Oh it’s unconstitutional.’ Those are stupid people. Those are stupid people that say that.”

He added: “We have to work in Congress to get a one-year jail sentence. When they’re allowed to stomp on the flag and put lighter fluid on the flag and set it afire, when you’re allowed to do that — you get a one-year jail sentence and you’ll never see it again.”

Trump told the news that Hamas must release all remaining hostages, having previously suggested that Netanyahu and his government’s failure to ensure Israel’s security were to blame for the attack.

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