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Former Auburn men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl issued a serious warning on Tuesday, two years after the Oct. 7 attacks carried out by Hamas. His warning comes amid the Trump administration’s efforts to broker a peace deal.
During an appearance on OutKick’s “Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich,” Pearl called out the “atrocities” of the attacks on Israel. He also commended President Donald Trump’s efforts to return hostages – both alive and dead.
Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl reacts on the court against the Georgia Bulldogs at Stegeman Coliseum on Jan. 18, 2025. (Dale Zanine/Imagn Images)
“Today is the two-year anniversary of one of the world’s biggest holocausts, and that was the murder of 1,200 Israelis. And there were over 50 Americans killed two years ago on that day by Hamas and Palestinian terrorists that were basically protesting over the fact that they don’t have their own state,” the longtime college basketball coach said.
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“We need to continue to support President Trump. He has done an amazing job, instead of pressures from all over the world to cave and give these terrorists a reward of another state – his whole land-for-peace stuff that we tried in Gaza, it didn’t work. It failed.”
Negotiators from Israel and Hamas convened in Egypt on Monday to discuss the details of Trump’s proposed peace plan seeking to end the war and return the remaining 48 hostages being held.
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during a meeting at the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters on Sept. 23, 2025, in New York City. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Trump’s 20-point plan requires all hostages, both dead and alive, to be returned within 72 hours of Hamas signing off on the deal. It also calls for Israeli forces to withdraw its troops and for a complete disarmament of Hamas.
Pearl said regardless of the talks in Egypt, the return of hostages and the demilitarization of Hamas are the “baseline” for peace. He issued a grave warning about history being repeated.
“They spent all these years building a terrorist state and just waiting and waiting and waiting until a moment when they could do what they did on October 7th. We cannot let that happen again. The hostages have got to come home. Hamas has got to be demilitarized, and can no longer be involved in any future government.”
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl yells during practice at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
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“Once we go there, then there’s a real possibility for President Trump to build on the Abraham Accords and have there be a prosperous, peaceful Middle East.”
Pearl, one of a handful of Jewish coaches in college basketball at the time, was named chairman of the Board of Directors for the U.S. Israel Education Association (USIEA) in April. He has been an outspoken supporter of Israel since the Oct. 7 attacks.
At the time of the announcement, Pearl said he was “proud to continue advocating for greater understanding and collaboration” between the U.S. and Israel.
Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf and Diana Stancy contributed to this report.
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