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US Senator Lindsey Graham has courted controversy by comparing the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza to Washington’s decision to end the Second World War in 1954 by dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. While suggesting that the Jewish state should nuke Gaza, he said “give Israel the bombs they need to end the war”.

The South Carolina Republican, while speaking to NBC News on Sunday, said, “When we were faced with destruction as a nation after Pearl Harbor, fighting the Germans and the Japanese, we decided to end the war by bombing Hiroshima, Nagasaki with nuclear weapons. That was the right decision.”

“Give Israel the bombs they need to end the war they can’t afford to lose and work with them to minimise casualties. Why is it okay for America to drop two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end their existential threat war. Why was it okay to do that? I thought it was okay?” Graham, who is known to be a staunch supporter of Israel, said.

“To Israel, do whatever you have to do to survive as a Jewish state. Whatever you have to do.”

The Senator’s remarks came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated Washington’s strong opposition to Israel’s offensive in Gaza, saying that the Jewish state would “be left holding the bag on an enduring insurgency” without an exit from the Hamas-held enclave and a post-war governance plan.

Despite multiple warnings by the US and other Western allies, Israel has also intensified its operation in Rafah, the last Hamas stronghold in Gaza.

Further in his interview with NBC News, the Senator also blamed Hamas for civilian casualties as a result of the raging war in Gaza.

“I think it’s impossible to mitigate civilian deaths in Gaza as long as Hamas uses their own population as human shields. I’ve never seen in the history of warfare such blatant efforts by an enemy, Hamas, to put civilians at risk,” he said.

“The last thing you want to do is reward this behaviour.”

This was not the first time that Graham shared controversial opinions on conflicts raging in the Middle East. In December 2023, he urged US President Joe Biden to blow Iran “off the map”, the Independent newspaper reported.

“I have been saying for six months now… hit Iran. They have oil fields out in the open, they have the Revolutionary Guard headquarters you can see from space. Blow it off the map,” he told Fox News.