‘Finish them’: Haley’s message on Israeli Defence Forces shell

Former US presidential hopeful and hawkish envoy Nikki Haley was photographed writing the strong message on an IDF shell as she toured sites near the northern border with Lebanon.

Nikki Haley went to the West Bank settlements and then went to sign on a bomb "finish them". Picture: Twitter.

Former US presidential hopeful Nikki Haley has been photographed writing “Finish Them” on an Israeli shell as she toured sites near the northern border with Lebanon.

The photograph was posted on X on Tuesday by Danny Danon, a member of the Israeli parliament and former ambassador to the United Nations, who was accompanying Haley on her visit.

“’Finish Them’. This is what my friend the former ambassador Nikki Haley wrote,” Danon said in his post that showed a kneeling Haley writing on a shell with a purple marker pen.

Finish them!

זה מה שכתבה היום חברתי, השגרירה לשעבר, ניקי היילי על פגז במהלך ביקור במוצב של תותחנים בגבול הצפון.

הגיע הזמן לשינוי משוואה - תושבי צור וצידון יתפנו, תושבי הצפון יחזרו.

צה"ל יכול לנצח! pic.twitter.com/qvLNCXPl7o

— Danny Danon 🇮🇱 דני דנון (@dannydanon) May 28, 2024

Ms Haley was a hawkish UN envoy under Donald Trump, and her term overlapped with Danon.

It came as Israeli tanks advanced further into Rafah, as the Israeli military said it was expanding operations in the southern Gazan city even amid growing international condemnation. The tanks passed near the Al-Awda mosque, a central Rafah landmark, Palestinians in the city told The Wall Street Journal.

Sunday’s air strike on Hamas which allegedly killed 45 civilians raises further questions about whether the Israeli military can achieve its goals without crossing American red lines.

The US military has also said it has suspended use of its temporary pier off the coast of Gaza because it was damaged during severe storms, the latest setback in the US effort to deliver humanitarian aid by sea to the embattled enclave.

The Gaza war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,189 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on the latest Israeli official figures.

Militants also took 252 hostages, 121 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 the army says are dead.

Nikki Haley meets with Hamas attack survivor, Tali Biner, during a visit to the 'Nova' Festival site in Re'eim, Israel. Picture: Getty Images.

Haley, 52, abandoned her White House bid in March after heavy defeats in Republican primary contests to Trump, and last week said that she would vote for him in the election.

Trump has ruled her out of contention to be his vice president, but she is a potential presidential runner in 2028.

The White House said Tuesday that President Joe Biden has no plans to change his Israel policy following a deadly weekend strike on Rafah but that he is not turning a “blind eye” to the plight of Palestinian civilians.

Algeria has presented a draft resolution to UN Security Council members calling for an end to Israel’s offensive in Rafah and an “immediate ceasefire,” according to a draft text seen by AFP.

Defying pressure from the United States and other western countries, Israel has been conducting military operations in Rafah, which is packed with people who have fled fighting elsewhere in Gaza.

The draft resolution, which draws on last week’s ruling by the International Court of Justice, “decides that Israel, the occupying Power, shall immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in Rafah.” It also “demands an immediate ceasefire respected by all parties, and also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”