Nikki Haley, a former GOP presidential candidate and United Nations ambassador, wrote “Finish them” on an artillery shell while on a trip to Israel this week.
Haley was photographed signing the shell Tuesday in a social media post by Danny Danon, Israel’s former ambassador to the United Nations and a member of the Israeli Parliament. The message on the shell read, “Finish them! America [heart] Israel always, Nikki Haley.”
“This is what my friend, the former ambassador, Nikki Haley wrote today about a shell during a visit to an artillery post on the northern border,” Danon wrote in a post on social platform X. “The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] will win!”
The post came shortly after an Israeli strike on the southern Gaza city of Rafah killed dozens of Palestinians and wounded at least 200 others earlier this week.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the Rafah fire as tragic and said Israel is “investigating it thoroughly and will learn from it, as is our policy and longstanding conduct.”
The incident further fueled global outrage over Israel’s war in Gaza, which has killed more than 36,00 Palestinians since early October, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Israel’s war with Hamas has been raging for almost eight months, since the militant group launched a surprise assault against Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage.
Earlier this week, Haley toured sites in Israel near the northern border with Lebanon, where the artillery shell was reportedly signed, along with other sites that were targeted by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attacks.
“What I will tell all Israelis: America is with you. Americans are with you — 1,200 people were brutally murdered. Let’s not forget what happened on Oct. 7. Because Hamas has said they’re going to do it again. We owe it to make sure it never happens again,” Haley said in a video posted by Danon.
“Don’t listen to what is being said in the media. I reassure you: America stands with Israel!” Danon quoted Haley as saying, in a separate post on X.
Haley, during her time in the U.N. and for months along the campaign trail, repeatedly emphasized her support for Israel and its fight against Hamas.
In an interview with the Israel Hayom newspaper this week, Haley urged the U.S. to “simply support” Israel’s efforts.
“We don’t need to preach to Israel, we don’t need to tell them how to win the war, we don’t need to tell them what they can or can’t do,” she said, per a translation of the interview.
“We just have to say, ‘what else do you need?’ Bottom line, that’s it. This is what I want to see America do. It’s called being a friend, a real friend. And we also need to make sure that all the other countries align with us.”
The Hill reached out to Haley’s team for further comment.