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US President Donald Trump said in an interview released Monday that Israel “may be winning the [Gaza] war, but they’re not winning the world of public relations.”

Trump’s comments echoed ones he made several times last year during the presidential campaign, but he has not repeated the argument since returning to office in January.

He has recently begun reiterating his belief that Israel needs to end the war quickly and told the Daily Caller, “They’re gonna have to get that war over with… It is hurting Israel.”

But Trump also has indicated his support for Israel’s plan to take over Gaza City, asserting in recent weeks that Jerusalem must “finish the job” against Hamas and claiming that the terror group will only release the remaining hostages after it is destroyed. The Israel Defense Forces has reportedly determined that the Gaza City operation could take four or five months to complete, after which Netanyahu has talked about a subsequent operation to conquer the refugee camps in the central Strip.

Trump was asked in the interview whether he is concerned about waning support for Israel in the US, including among Republicans: “I’m aware of it,” he responded.

He then pivoted to highlight his “good support from Israel,” while touting the moves he has taken as president in defense of the Jewish state.

Trump asserted Israel had “the strongest lobby in Congress” 15 or 20 years ago, but no longer does.

“There was a time where… if you wanted to be a politician, you couldn’t speak badly [about Israel],” he said. “Israel was the strongest lobby I’ve ever seen.. They had total control over Congress,” Trump said. Israel has “been hurt, especially in Congress.”

Trump added that was “a little surprised” to see declining support for Israel in Congress. “People, they forgot about October 7th. You know, October 7th was a truly horrible day, because I’ve seen the pictures.”

“And you know, you have people that deny it ever happened, they’re deniers. You have people that deny the Holocaust ever happened,” he continued. “So, they’re gonna have to get that war over with. But it is hurting Israel. There’s no question about it. They may be winning the war, but they’re not winning the world of public relations, you know, and it is hurting them.”

‘Young people across the globe look at this with horror’

In addition to declining support in the United States, Israel has lost backing globally over the ongoing war in Gaza, with a number of Western countries led by France and Britain recently announcing they will recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly later this month.

Addressing parliament on Monday, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he was “outraged by the Israeli government’s refusal to allow in sufficient aid” to Gaza.

“This is not a natural disaster,” he charged, speaking in the House of Commons. “It’s a man-made famine in the 21st century.”

Israel’s reputation is “diminishing in the eyes of young people across the globe who look at this with horror,” Lammy said of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

He urged the Israeli government “to step back and recognize the reputational damage caused by its actions.”

He also blasted Hamas for “deliberately starving Israeli hostages.”

“To make a ceasefire last, we need a monitoring mechanism, we need the disarmament of Hamas and a new governance framework for Gaza,” he said.

Calling for an immediate ceasefire and hostage release deal, Lammy said that “further military operations in Gaza City will only prolong and deepen this crisis. So together with our partners, we demand an immediate halt to this operation.”

Referring to Britain’s plans to recognize Palestinian statehood, Lammy denied that doing so “rewards Hamas or threatens Israeli security.”

“Recognition is rooted in the principle of a two-state solution which Hamas rejects,” he said. “We have been clear that any Palestinian state should be demilitarized.

“We see no contradiction between the two-state solution and our deep commitment to Israeli security. Because security comes from stable borders, not indefinite occupation.”

In his remarks, Lammy also said British officials were working to get critically sick and injured children out of Gaza so they can receive specialist treatment in UK hospitals, adding that the first patients will arrive in the coming weeks.

He told lawmakers that British officials were also supporting students from Gaza who have been granted scholarships at UK universities so that they can start their studies in the fall.

Lammy did not give specifics about the number of sick children or scholars that Britain is accepting from Gaza. But Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told parliament on Monday that officials are expediting visas for those Palestinians, as well as their accompanying family members.

British media has reported that officials are facilitating the evacuation of nine students in Gaza who were awarded Chevening scholarships, funded by Britain’s Foreign Office, but that dozens of other Palestinian students who have offers to study in the UK were still in limbo.

Officials have said they will not give specifics on the evacuation process because the situation was sensitive and complex.

Other European nations including Italy have also evacuated students and sick children from Gaza.

The UK funds field hospital operations in Gaza through a charity and works with the World Health Organization in Egypt to help treat some of the 8,000 people from Gaza who have been medically evacuated there.

Times of Israel staff and AP contributed to this report.