Former Republican presidential candidateNikki Haley wrote a clear message of support to the IDF on an artillery shell during a recent visit to Israel.
“Finish them! America [loves] Israel always,” Haley wrote on the projectile. Pictures of Haley signing the artillery shell were posted to X byDanny Danon, a member of Israel’s Knesset and Israel’s former ambassador to the U.N.
The former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina governor is touring Israel where she has met with military leaders and survivors of the October 7 attacks where the Palestinian terror group killed around 1,200 Israelis and took some 240 people captive.
Haley has been a staunch supporter of Israel’s war and her message also echoes similar sentiments she issued to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu days after the October 7 attacks where she said that the attacks were “not just an attack on Israel” but “an attack on America.” “Finish them, @Netanyahu,” she wrote on X at the time. “They should have hell to pay for what they have just done.”
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Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley scrawled a message of encouragement to the IDF on an artillery shell during a visit to Israel on Memorial Day. (Danny Danon/ @dannydanon, left and inset, Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images, right.)
Haley’s message of solidarity with Israel comes at a time when its military forces are under increased international pressure due to the mounting casualty list of the war. On Sunday, an Israeli air strike in the southern Gaza city of Rafah killed at least 45 people, with Netanyahu calling it a “tragic mishap.”
Israeli tankswere reportedly seen in the center of Rafah for the first time on Tuesday, according to witnesses, as Israel enters the third week of its ground operation in the southern Gaza city. Israel says it will not be able to secure victory without taking Rafah and taking out several Hamas battalions.
Haley has reiterated her support of Israel several times on the trip.
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Nikki Haley, left, speaks with attack survivor Tali Miner during a visit to the site of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im, Israel. (Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“What I will tell all Israelis: America is with you,” Haley said in a video posted by Danon on Monday.
“Americans are with you — 1,200 people were brutally murdered. Let’s not forget what happened on Oct. 7. Because Hamas has said they’re going to do it again. We owe it to make sure it never happens again.”
And on Wednesday Haley again backed Israel’s military mission.
“Israel did not start this war — Hamas did,” Haley wrote on X.
“Families in southern Israel woke on October 7, as 3,000 Hamas fighters brutalized Israelis. Thousands of Palestinian civilians followed joining in the destruction, looting, and violence. On a Jewish day of prayer, savages burned their cars so they could not escape, set their homes on fire as they hid in their safe rooms, shot families as they tried to flee, and separated children from their parents to hold hostage.”
Nikki Haley touring the site of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im, Israel. (Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
She added that Israel must do “whatever is necessary” to protect its people from evil and reinforced her belief that Israel is fighting America’s enemies.
“Americans must remember that when Iran and Hamas chant ‘death to Israel” they also promise ‘death to America.’”
Haley said on Tuesday she met with 20-year-old nurse Tali Biner who survived the Oct. 7 attacks after she hid for hours.
Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
You can send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.