Ramaswamy offers US strategy plan on Israel, blasts other GOP contenders for lack of 'pragmatic' solutions

FIRST ON FOX: Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on Tuesday proposed  a six-prong plan for how the U.S. should strategize amid Israel's war with Hamas while calling out former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and others who have not offered "a pragmatic path forward."

"The Hamas-led attacks on Israel were barbaric and cannot be condoned. We require a rational response that supports Israel while avoiding another U.S.-led disaster in the Middle East," Ramaswamy said in a statement first shared with Fox News Digital. "I am disappointed and deeply concerned by the remarks of certain presidential candidates including Nikki Haley who have irresponsibly called the Hamas attack an ‘attack on America’ and rabidly shout ‘FINISH THEM!!’ repeatedly without offering a pragmatic path forward."

"The U.S. should provide Israel with diplomatic support, intelligence-sharing, and necessary munitions to defend its own homeland, while taking special care to avoid a broader regional war in the Middle East that would *not* advance U.S. interests," he added.

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Ramaswamy's plan, according to his campaign, would:

• Offer Israel robust intelligence support and stand ready to provide additional military supplies via both sale and transfer.
• Immediately confirm an American ambassador to Israel, with the vacant embassies in Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait, and Oman to be filled in quick succession.
• End all further nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, including the full phase-out of Iran’s nuclear program and immediately ending Biden’s disastrous plan to share nuclear technology with Saudi Arabia.
• Fast-track the deportation of any resident aliens who have served with Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, including extradition to Israeli custody where appropriate.
• Work with Israel to identify countries willing to accept peaceful Palestinians who wish to escape the pressures of Hamas and facilitate their emigration.
• Warn the UN of consequences if its historical pattern of drawing false equivalences between Israel and the terrorists who target it.

Nikki Haley, a fellow contender in the GOP race for the White House, said Saturday that the war between Israel and Hamas "should be personal" for all Americans.

"This should be personal for every woman and man in America, why? Because when they did this surprise attack, when they took these hostages when they murdered these families, they were celebrating, and what were they celebrating? They were saying death to Israel, death to America," she said. "This is not just an attack on Israel, this is an attack on America because they hate us just as much."

Despite Ramaswamy’s criticism of Haley, the former Palmetto State governor released her own plan on Monday for how to deal with the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Haley's plan, which was detailed by her campaign, includes the following:

• Provide Israel with all arms and intelligence it needs to defend itself and destroy the terrorists in its midst.
• Place all regional governments, particularly the government of Lebanon, on notice that they must not allow the use of their territory to engage in this battle.
• End American taxpayer support for all Palestinian entities or United Nations-backed entities that side with Hamas or fail to denounce antisemitic activity.
• Freeze Iranian access to the $6 billion in Qatari banks and send that money to Israel instead. Reimpose and enforce sanctions on Iran and on purchasers of Iranian oil.

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Haley's campaign declined to comment for this story.

Hamas launched thousands of missiles at Israel and invaded towns along the Gaza border on Saturday, killing at least 1,000 people, a death toll not seen in Israel in decades, wounding thousands more and prompting Israel to declare war against the Iran-backed group. Hamas also took hostages, including young children, Israel has said. 

The number those killed in the conflict has surpassed 1,600 dead and thousands wounded on both sides.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told President Biden that a ground operation in the Gaza Strip is necessary after Hamas launched deadly strikes on his country.

"Israel is at war. We didn’t want this war," he said Monday. "It was forced upon us in the most brutal and savage way. But though Israel didn’t start this war, Israel will finish it."

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He said Hamas has "made a mistake of historic proportions. We will exact a price that will be remembered by them and Israel’s other enemies for decades to come."

Fox News' Louis Casiano and Peter Aitken contributed to this report.