Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump on Friday, speaking to an audience including Arab Americans in the battleground state of Michigan, said it was time to get the Israel-Lebanon conflict over with.
“I know many people from Lebanon and we have to get this whole thing over with,” he said.
Michigan, a swing state with a large number of Arab American voters, has seen frequent courting by both Trump and Democrat candidate Kamala Harris. Arab American voters from Dearborn were vocal in their criticisms of both candidates as they demanded more be done to push for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The comments came as the United States began pushing for a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel.
The Israel-Hezbollah war
Hezbollah began firing at northern Israel on October 8, 2023, a day after Hamas launched its massacre on southern Israel. The constant attacks saw tens of thousands of Israeli residents evacuated from their homes near the Lebanese border.
In October, Israel launched ground operations in southern Lebanon after adding the war goal of securing the safe return of evacuees to the North. Over the past two months, the conflict has seen significant escalation with much of Hezbollah’s leadership eliminated, including the group’s former leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
Israeli attacks have killed at least 2,897 people and injured 13,150 in Lebanon, with 30 fatalities reported in the past 24 hours, Lebanon’s health ministry said on Friday.
