KFAR AZZA, Israel (AP/1010 WINS) — Republican presidential hopeful Chris Christie on Sunday visited Israel, saying the U.S. must stand “shoulder to shoulder” with Israel in its war against Hamas.
Christie toured a kibbutz that was ravaged in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack by Hamas that triggered the war and met Israeli leaders, wounded soldiers and families of Israeli hostages during his one-day visit. The former New Jersey governor is the first candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination to visit Israel.
“I came here because I wanted to see this for myself,” Christie said during a tour of Kfar Azza, one of more than 20 towns and villages attacked by Hamas. Israel says over 1,200 people were killed and 239 others are being held hostage in Gaza.
Christie, donning a flak jacket and flanked by an entourage of Israeli soldiers, made his way through homes with walls riddled by bullet holes and couches stained with blood. Over a month since the attack, many Kfar Azza houses are burnt-out and destroyed — structures left standing are scribbled with Arabic graffiti.
“To be able to walk through a neighborhood like this and see what was done to the people, to still be able to walk into one of these homes and smell the death still, a month later, is something that I think the American people need to know.”
During his visit, Christie watched a film of gruesome footage pulled from Hamas body cameras and compiled by the Israeli army. The military has screened the film to international press and multiple world leaders who have visited Israel since the start of the war.
“I want the people of Israel to know that there are hundreds of millions of Americans who stand with them, who understand the atrocities that were committed, and why in the future we need to stand absolutely shoulder to shoulder with Israel," Christie said.
The trip marks his second trip to a warring country since the start of his presidential bid, after a visit to Ukraine in August, when he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
