Meshaal’s comments came after the latest cease-fire between Israel and Hamas definitively broke down over the weekend.“What is the difference between what (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu, (Israeli Defense Minister Moshe) Yaalon and (Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Benny) Gantz are doing — killing thousands of civilians, children, women, entire neighborhoods, targeting mosques, destroying hospitals and schools,” Meshaal added, in some of his most brazen remarks made yet. “What's the difference between that and what the Nazis did in the 1930s and '40s? And what Hitler did. This is the real holocaust."
By Monday morning, Israeli forces pushed forward with a new round of airstrikes and tank fire in Gaza, killing at least two civilians. The move came in response to the death of a four-year-old Israeli child on Friday, who was killed by Hamas rockets.
Despite the ongoing violence, Meshaal who leads the militant group’s political wing in exile from Qatar, said his organization is “ready for a ceasefire,” but said Obama must pressure Israel to act to lessen its presence in Gaza.
"This is an opportunity for me to send a message to the American people, to President Obama, and to the U.S. Congress: America has to act in a moral way,” he said.
