Netanyahu’s Plan to Fully Occupy Gaza; Trump Calls for US to Manage Aid

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA): According to Euronews, this news comes as negotiations to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and release hostages have stalled, and according to reports, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to fully occupy Gaza by expanding the military operation. This is while US officials are concerned about more bloodshed and have not yet seriously opposed this process. Also, the new food aid program that Trump promised last week has not yet been finalized.

Steve Whittaker, the US special envoy, traveled to Israel and Gaza last week. According to a US official, in a meeting with Mr Trump on Monday evening, it was decided that the US president would “take the lead” in the humanitarian effort in Gaza, because Israel has not been doing a good job.

Although the US official did not elaborate on what the role would be, he said that Gulf states such as Qatar would provide funding, and that Jordan and Egypt would also likely be involved.

Although Mr Trump is reluctant to take on such a role, “it seems he has no choice,” the US official said.

“The hunger problem in Gaza has gotten worse. Mr Trump doesn’t like it. He doesn’t want babies to starve. He wants mothers to be able to take care of their children. It’s become a serious concern for him,” he said.

Another US official, noting that the Trump administration does not want to get too bogged down in the Gaza crisis, said: “The president does not want to be the only one spending money. This is a global crisis and he has asked Whitaker and others to make sure that both our European allies and our Arab friends are doing their part.”

According to the two US officials and an Israeli official, Israel supports an increased US role in providing aid to Gaza.

The Israeli official confirmed that the US intends to take the lead on humanitarian issues to increase the level of aid to Gaza, saying: “They are going to spend a lot of money to help us improve the humanitarian situation so that it is less of a problem.”

The hunger crisis in Gaza has been widely criticized by some of the US’s major allies, including Canada, France and Britain, which have announced their intention to recognize a “Palestinian state” in order to end the conflict.

Axios also reported that some in the Trump administration have expressed concern about Netanyahu’s plan to expand the war, despite Israeli officials repeatedly claiming they are in full coordination with Washington.

According to an Israeli official, Netanyahu spoke about the possibility of expanding the country’s military operation and occupying Gaza completely during Steve Witkoff’s visit to Israel last week, and has discussed it with the White House this week.

Netanyahu’s plan to expand the war is controversial not only because of the full occupation of Gaza, but also because the Israeli army would enter areas where hostages are said to be being held. The Israeli army has so far refrained from attacking these areas, fearing that hostages might be killed accidentally.

Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and other senior security officials have warned Netanyahu against such an operation.

Israeli officials say Zamir told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the move would endanger the lives of the hostages and could lead to Israel taking full military control of Gaza and assuming full responsibility for the two million Palestinians.

However, Israel’s security cabinet is expected to approve a plan to completely occupy Gaza during a meeting on Thursday.

Netanyahu believes that “Hamas is not interested in a deal” and wants to free the hostages “through a complete victory over the militant group,” an Israeli official said.

He also said that humanitarian aid would be sent to areas outside the war zones and “to the extent possible, to areas not under Hamas control.”

However, Netanyahu’s plan to expand the war appears to be a setback for Mr. Trump’s hopes of increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza.