![Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to be Defense secretary, appears during a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on 14 January 2025 in Washington, DC [Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2193430740-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
US President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, expressed strong support yesterday for Israel’s ongoing military onslaught against Gaza during his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing.
Hegseth’s remarks were repeatedly disrupted by protesters, one of whom labeled him a “misogynist” and a “Christian Zionist” before being escorted out by Capitol Police.
Senator Tom Cotton addressed the incident, questioning why being a Christian Zionist should be considered negative. “I’m a Christian, I’m a Zionist,” Cotton said. “Zionism is that the Jewish people deserve a homeland in the ancient holy land where they have lived since the dawn of history. Do you consider yourself a Christian Zionist?”
In response, Hegseth affirmed his views: “I am a Christian and I robustly support the state of Israel and its existential defence and the way America comes alongside them as their great ally.”
Hegseth also emphasised his position on Hamas, stating, “I support Israel in destroying and killing every last member of Hamas.”
It comes just days before Trump takes office on 20 January following campaign promises to end the wars in the Middle East and elsewhere, although he has offered scant details of how he plans to proceed.
Last month, Trump vowed that there would be “hell to pay” in the Middle East if captives held in the Gaza Strip were not released prior to his inauguration. “Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied history of the United States of America,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Israel has been carrying out what the International Court of Justice has deemed “plausible” genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023. Around 250 people were taken hostage by the resistance group.
At least 46,500 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since then, mainly children and women, and a further 106,000 have been wounded. A further 11,000 are missing, presumed dead, under the rubble of their homes and other civilian infrastructure destroyed by the Israeli occupation forces.
Hamas has called for an end to the war and for a total Israeli withdrawal from Gaza as part of any deal to release the remaining captives. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the war will go on until Hamas is eradicated and poses no threat to Israel.
The International Criminal Court issued a warrant last month for Netanyahu’s arrest on war crimes charges and crimes against humanity. His former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant faces the same charges.
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