[News] GOP lawmaker says Gaza needs same end as WWII Japan, with nukes

[Anti-Imperialist News]

english.almayadeen.net
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/gop-lawmaker-says-gaza-needs-same-end-as-wwii-japan--with-nu>
GOP lawmaker says Gaza needs same end as WWII Japan, with nukes
Al Mayadeen English
May 23, 2025
------------------------------

   - [image: Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, answers a question about his
   House Bill 3-C: Independent Special Districts in the House of
   Representatives April 20, 2022, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Florida
   (AP/Phil Sears)]
   <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2025/5/23/58c59d08-5ef1-4878-9cc0-4d53e5219d87.png?width=1000>
   Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, answers a question about his House Bill 3-C:
   Independent Special Districts in the House of Representatives, April 20,
   2022, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Florida (*AP*)

In a statement drawing widespread condemnation, freshman Republican
Congressman Randy Fine called for the United States or “Israel” to “nuke”
Gaza
<https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/analysis/is--israel--using-small-nuclear-weapons-in-gaza-and-south-le>,
likening the besieged Palestinian enclave to Imperial Japan during World
War II and invoking the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a model for
ending the war on Gaza.

Appearing on *Fox News* following the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy
staffers near the Capitol Jewish Museum in Washington, Fine said, “The only
end of the conflict [in Gaza] is complete and total surrender by those who
support Muslim terror.”

“The fact of the matter is the Palestinian cause is an evil one,” said
Fine. “In World War Two, we did not negotiate a surrender with the Nazis.
We did not negotiate a surrender with the Japanese. We nuked the Japanese
twice in order to get unconditional surrender. That needs to be the same
here.”

The remarks triggered immediate backlash from rights advocates and
political observers, who said Fine’s comments represent a dangerous
escalation of genocidal rhetoric within US political discourse on
Palestine. By suggesting Gaza should be subjected to atomic warfare,
critics argue, Fine is promoting war crimes and openly dehumanizing
Palestinians
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/ongoing-sexual-abuse-of-gaza-detainees-sparks-rights-groups>
.

Remarks follow embassy shooting amid heightened tensions

The congressman’s remarks came hours after two staffers from the Israeli
embassy were killed in a shooting outside a Washington venue
<https://next-en.almayadeen.net/videos/what-we-know-so-far-about-elias-rodriguez>
hosting an event by the American Jewish Committee. While the incident
remains under investigation, Fine cited the attack as justification for
calling the Palestinian cause “evil” and demanding unconditional surrender.

Though details of the assailant’s identity and motives remain unclear,
Fine’s remarks immediately tied the shooting to Palestinians and leveraged
it to reinforce his calls for escalated military action.

Meanwhile, in "Israel", Gaza is experiencing a rapidly deteriorating
situation. From relentless daily massacres to an escalating famine,
Palestinians are enduring worsening conditions each day, nearly two years
into the ongoing Israeli genocide.

Human rights groups condemn genocidal rhetoric

Legal analysts and human rights organizations have condemned Fine’s
rhetoric, warning that invoking atomic bombings as a legitimate means to
resolve conflict sets a chilling precedent.

“To call for nuking a civilian population under siege is not just morally
reprehensible, it borders on incitement to genocide,” said a representative
from the Human Rights Watch.

Pro-Palestine activists have pointed out that Gaza has been under total
blockade by the Israeli occupation for over 17 years, with the latest war
having killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, most of them women and
children. The suggestion that such a population should be subject to
nuclear annihilation, they say, reflects a normalization of
exterminationist rhetoric in mainstream US politics.
Republican party silent amid rising calls for accountability

At the time of publication, neither Speaker of the House Mike Johnson nor
the Republican National Committee had issued a statement in response to
Fine’s remarks. Democratic lawmakers, however, have begun calling for
censure, and several progressive voices in Congress have labeled the
comments “open incitement to war crimes.”

While Fine has long positioned himself as an unapologetically pro-"Israel"
hardliner, this latest statement marks a stark departure from prior GOP
talking points, crossing into explicit advocacy for mass killing as a
legitimate tactic in modern warfare.

In 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for
Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/icc-issues-arrest-warrants-for-netanyahu--gallant-over--war>
and former Security Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of "crimes against
humanity and war crimes."
Trend in nuke threats

Over the past 19 months, calls to use nuclear weapons against Gaza have
moved from fringe rhetoric to increasingly normalized statements by
high-profile officials in both "Israel" and the United States.

In November 2023, Israeli “Heritage” Minister Amichai Eliyahu
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/-the-hague-knows-my-position---says-israeli-minister-on-nuki>
publicly stated that dropping nuclear bombs on Gaza should be considered,
claiming there were “no uninvolved civilians” in the Strip. He later told
participants in a West Bank tour that “even in The Hague they know my
position,” referencing international awareness of his genocidal stance.
Though not a member of the Israeli war cabinet, Eliyahu had repeatedly
warned that a ceasefire or captive deal would destroy the Israeli regime.

In May of 2024, Senator Lindsey Graham made similar remarks, saying that
the United States dropping atomic bombs on Japan saved hundreds of
thousands of American lives, adding that the use of nuclear weapons in Gaza
is not necessary, while 2000-pound bunker-buster bombs are.

His comments at the time, published on his X account, were addressed to
Iran, which condemned Graham's reprehensible statement, where he suggested
that the Israeli occupation entity should strike Gaza with a nuclear bomb
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/graham-doubles-down-on-nuking-gaza--but-says-1-ton-bombs-suf>
for it to win its "existential" war.
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