As Israel’s war in Gaza continues, President Donald Trump seemingly compared Hamas’ hostage situation with the Nazis’ treatment of the Jews in World War II.
Trump’s remarks came after two Israel-based human rights organizations condemned the country’s assault in Gaza as a genocide. The groups published reports citing Israel’s bombardment of hospitals, a blockade preventing medical and food aid from entering the Gaza Strip and what one group called “coordinated action to intentionally destroy Palestinian society.”
While addressing reporters in Scotland, Trump insisted that the U.S. is “giving a lot of money and a lot of food” to aid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. But he later turned the conversation toward the hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023, seemingly comparing their treatment to the Nazis and Germans in WWII.
The president said he questioned if Hamas soldiers ever “winked at” hostages and gave them reassurance they would be OK, or if they ever gave the hostages “some extra food” while being held in Gaza.
Trump on hostages in Gaza: “You even see it with Germany, where people would be let into a house and live in an attic in secret.” pic.twitter.com/Oz39V8p3ej
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 28, 2025
“You see it in the movies where somebody’s a prisoner and somebody’s helping. You even see it with Germany where people would be let into a house and live in an attic in secret,” Trump said.
Trump’s comparisons came under fire online for seemingly comparing the situation to the story of Anne Frank, a Jewish child who hid in an attic in Amsterdam with her family in an attempt to avoid being captured by the Nazis.
Others drew comparisons to the film “The Pianist,” which shares the story of a Jewish man who was able to escape being sent to the Treblinka concentration camp thanks to the help of a police friend.
Comparing Gaza and Anne Frank is vile. The attic where she hid was in Amsterdam, not Germany. Trump is a moron
— Pink Freud Hokie School Bonds 📟 🪷 🐺⚖️🏴☠️🇺🇸 (@PinkFreudHokie) July 28, 2025
“Foreign policy insights from the movies. Perfect,” one user wrote. Another added, “That’s not how it worked.”
Are there any attics left in Gaza???
— DaveStirek (@57555ds) July 28, 2025
“Are there any attics left in Gaza???” one user inquired, referring to the statistic that an estimated 70% of all buildings in Gaza have been destroyed.
Trump previously faced backlash for suggesting that Nazis showed Jews “signs of love” during the Holocaust after meeting with freed Israeli hostages in April. Several users slammed Trump’s statements seemingly intended to frame Hamas militants as more cruel than Nazis as “a grotesque distortion of history” at the time.
Originally published on Latin Times
