Bill Maher and Henry Winkler disagree on the war in Gaza: 'Do you see the same events I see?'

Bill Maher and Henry Winkler engaged in a respectful discussion on the topic of how Israel should handle the conflict in Gaza.

On Sunday, the "Club Random with Bill Maher" podcast featured an episode in which Winkler, famous for portraying Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on "Happy Days," discussed his concerns about the Gaza conflict and the treatment of Israeli hostages. During the interview, Winkler, who is Jewish himself, voiced his frustration with the Israeli military's approach to eliminating Hamas, arguing that Hamas is more of an idea than a physical group.

Winkler countered Maher's argument that World War II demonstrated the effectiveness of destroying enemy regimes and turning countries into American allies by pointing out that the war's impact on civilians in Gaza has only served to radicalize more of them and join Hamas, asking, "Do you really believe that those who are now homeless and their families have been destroyed are not Hamas members?"

The host denied the accusation that he was implying that wiping enough Gazans would destroy Hamas, arguing that he was only objecting to the idea that an idea cannot be destroyed.

Maher argued that his response to people questioning Israel's conduct in the war is to ask, "Do you know what's really going on underneath Gaza and all the tunnels and how close they are? I don't either, but you know who does know? The Israeli Defense Forces. Now are they perfect? Of course not, but again, they're not the ones purposely killing civilians. They try not to kill civilians. If you can't understand that difference, morally, then you're very morally confused."

Did you watch the same footage as me? Winkler inquired.

"You think they are trying to kill civilians?" Maher replied.

"I think that it is indiscriminate," Winkler said.

"War is what it becomes," Maher stated. "No war has ever been fought without causing harm to innocent people. Sherman's destruction of Atlanta was not limited to military targets. It's a sad truth, but the solution to this problem is straightforward: Stop attacking Israel. Jews have always understood this."

Winkler and Maher shared their mutual respect for one another, and the actor stated that he slightly disagrees with Maher's viewpoint on the current head of Israel being a soulful human being.

"I agree with you that it could be true that this is the correct policy, even if those other things are true," Maher said. "I didn't say he wasn't doing what you suggested, and I didn't say he might not be. I just wanted to add that it's possible that this is the right approach, which I believe it is. Let's finish this in the 11 months we've already invested."