Netanyahu willing to sacrifice hostages in pursuit of complete conquest of Gaza
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with senior security officials on Tuesday to hammer out Gaza war plans, and reportedly came out in favor of the military taking control of the entire enclave, even if it meant that the remaining hostages could be harmed or executed by Hamas.
The meeting came amid multiple reports of rising tensions between the prime minister and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir over the prospect of Israeli forces fully occupying the enclave.
The Prime Minister’s Office said in a brief statement that Netanyahu “held a limited security discussion today that lasted about 3 hours, in which the chief of staff presented the options for continuing the campaign in Gaza.”
“The IDF is prepared to implement any decision made by the security cabinet,” the statement added, an apparent reference to reported opposition from the IDF chief to plans to reoccupy Gaza, following the apparent breakdown of hostage-ceasefire talks with Hamas in recent weeks. [Continue reading…]
The Times of Israel also reports:
Pressed on whether he supports reported Israeli plans to occupy the entire Gaza Strip, US President Donald Trump responds, “That’s pretty much going to be up to Israel.”
Trump says his primary focus is on feeding Gazans “who are obviously not doing too well with the food.” [Continue reading…]