George W. Bush Gives Netanyahu Advice on Responding to Terror Attack: ‘Going to be Awfully Difficult’

Former President George W. Bush addressed the devastating Hamas attack on southern Israel Saturday while speaking at a private event this week. Axios revealed footage of Bush’s remarks on Friday, his first public statements on the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

Bush spoke of the stakes for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the challenges of a ground invasion of Gaza, which many observers believe is imminent.

“Going in the neighborhoods of Gaza is going to be tough. And, you know, he’s got a he’s got a very seasoned military. But they just called up 300,000 reservists, most of whom probably can’t fire a rifle,” Bush said in the clip from Tuesday, adding:

And to the extent they’ll be put in harm’s way is going to be awfully difficult on the prime minister. But he’s got to do what he’s got to do. I mean, these are you’re dealing with cold-blooded killers. And you can make all kinds of excuses why they are. But they are. And his job is to protect us. Protect his country. And anyway. We’ll find out what he’s made out of.

Bush was then asked about Iran’s possible involvement in the planning of Hamas’s brutal attack that left some 1,300 Israelis dead, mostly civilians.

“I’m kind of a hardliner on all this stuff,” Bush replied after noting he no longer receives intelligence briefings. “I never thought we should try to accommodate Iran, any way, shape or form.”

“I always felt the objective ought to be to prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon to prevent a cataclysmic event in the Middle East. And these are the kind of people that if you show softness, they will take advantage of it,” Bush concluded.

Watch above via Axios.