US President Donald Trump on Friday pushed back on a UN report accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, insisting the only clear attempt to annihilate a people in this war began on Oct. 7, 2023—when Hamas invaded Israel’s south, murdering families and abducting civilians.
“I haven’t seen [the report],” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, “but did anybody commit genocide on Oct. 7? … Little babies were chopped in half, arms were cut off people, heads were cut off people—that’s genocide.” The president’s remarks cut against a year of international messaging that fixates on Israel while downplaying the initiating atrocity: a mass-casualty assault aimed at erasing Jewish communities on the Gaza border.
BREAKING: President Trump claps back at a reporter after they insinuated Israel was committing a genocide.
“What happened on October 7th was genocide at the highest level. Little babies chopped in half. Head-cut-off people. That’s genocide.”
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) September 19, 2025
Pressed on whether a ceasefire is the only path to free hostages, Trump said military pressure can also force results. “A lot of strange things happen [in war]… results you would never think,” he said, noting the difficulty as Israel closes in on the remaining captives, many believed to be held in Hamas’s tunnel network. “You can’t forget Oct. 7… it’s a nasty situation. Terrible.”
Earlier in the week while visiting London, Trump similarly interrupted a reporter’s rant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Trump insisted that any criticism of Israel’s policies must be seen within the context of the war that Hamas started with its savage invasion and massacre of Israeli families.
Trump describes October 7 as one of the worst days in human history, saying he watched tapes of Palestinians chopping a baby to pieces pic.twitter.com/IqfgGmGXHG
— Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) September 19, 2025
The Trump administration’s framing has drawn support from senior Republicans. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the UN accusation against Israel “a modern-day blood libel,” and thanked Sen. Ted Cruz for speaking out. Cruz said the UN campaign “erodes Israel’s freedom of action against Hamas” and fuels “international lawfare” that will boomerang against US troops and citizens. He warned that the Trump administration and Congress could impose sanctions “against everyone involved in this travesty.”
The through-line is clear: while international bodies try to recast Israel as the aggressor, Trump is forcing the conversation back to first principles—Hamas’s Oct. 7 atrocities as the originating crime and the reason this war began.
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