- Elon Musk was interviewed by podcaster Lex Fridman and shared his views on the Israel-Hamas war.
- Musk said that Israel should display “conspicuous acts of kindness” toward Gaza.
- He also said that continued violence by Israel toward Gaza would play into what Hamas wanted.
Israel’s war in Gaza has been sparking debate and conversation since Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel just over a month ago. Now, Elon Musk is weighing in, sharing his thoughts on the conflict on an episode of Lex Fridman’s podcast, which was posted Thursday.
Musk told Fridman that there’s “no easy answer” to solve the conflict, but he did have some suggestions for Israel. He said that he believed Hamas had tried to provoke an “overreaction” from Israel in its October attacks so that people would later protest Israel’s response.
Musk told Fridman that Hamas “obviously didn’t expect to have a military victory,” but wanted to “commit the worst atrocities that they could so they provoke the most aggressive response possible from Israel and then leverage that aggressive response to rally Muslims worldwide for the cause of Gaza and Palestine, which they have succeeded in doing.” Hamas leaders themselves have said that the goal of the invasion was to cause chaos in the area, The New York Times reported.
Musk suggested that Israel should do something “counterintuitive” and try to “thwart” Hamas with “conspicuous acts of kindness.”
“It is appropriate for Israel to find the Hamas members and, you know, either kill them or incarcerate them,” Musk added. “Something has to be done or they will keep coming otherwise.”
But Musk told Fridman that Israel should also focus on “unequivocal” acts of kindness during the conflict. For example, it should make sure that Gaza has food, water, and medical supplies. He also said it’s vital that these acts are unequivocal so that Hamas can’t claim that it’s a “trick.”
As Musk put it, Israel should respond with undeniable kindness because “an eye for an eye makes everyone blind.”
Musk said that continued violence in Gaza will leave behind even more people who hate Israel.
“For every Hamas member that you kill, how many did you create?” Musk told Fridman. “If you kill somebody’s child in Gaza, you’ve made at least a few Hamas members.”
If the goal of the conflict is to create peace, Musk said that Israel should be asking itself: “Are more or fewer terrorists being created?”
As of Thursday, Gaza authorities estimate that 10,818 Palestinians have died and 26,905 have been wounded. Israeli authorities estimate 1,200 Israelis have died and 5,400 were wounded.
Musk did not respond to Insider’s request for additional comment ahead of publication.
This isn’t the first time Elon Musk has weighed in on the conflict. In October, Musk offered to bring Starlink internet to Gaza, in order to help aid groups and civilians. The move angered Israel, who had cut internet and telephone networks in Gaza days prior.
Musk has also been accused of spreading misinformation about the conflict on X. In October, Musk shared and deleted a post encouraging people to check out accounts that were sharing misinformation, The Washington Post reported.
Read the full article here