Trump team rethinks Gaza strategy after 6 months of failure
'We need to do some serious rethinking,' a visibly frustrated Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a group of hostage families on Friday after the latest round of
Gaza talks broke down
, two people who attended the meeting tell Axios.
Six months into his presidency, President
Trump
is no closer to ending the war in Gaza. The humanitarian crisis is worse than ever, negotiations are deadlocked, and the U.S. and Israel are increasingly isolated internationally.
Trump signaled Friday that it's time for Israel to further escalate the war to 'get rid' of Hamas and 'finish the job.'
Israeli officials weren't sure whether that was a negotiating tactic or a genuine change of course from Trump — a 'green light' for Netanyahu to use even more extreme military measures. 'It's terrible what happened with Hamas. Tapping everybody along. We'll see what happens. We'll see what response Israel has to that. But it is getting to be that time,' Trump told reporters after landing in Scotland on Friday.
While meeting with hostage families at the State Department Friday, Rubio said several times that the administration needed to 'rethink' its strategy on Gaza and 'come to the president with new options,' according to the sources.
Over the past six months, Trump has given Netanyahu an almost free hand to do whatever he wants in Gaza — from military operations, to hostage negotiations, to the distribution of humanitarian aid.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LBCI
6 hours ago
- LBCI
Israel approves daily humanitarian truce in Gaza amid growing international pressure
Report by Amal Shehadeh, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian Facing unprecedented international pressure to halt the war and warnings from security and military officials about the impact of spreading images of killing and starvation among Gaza's children, the Israeli prime minister approved a daily humanitarian truce in Gaza from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. This decision was seen by some ministers as a concession to Hamas. Meanwhile, the prisoner exchange deal — expected to mark the beginning of the end of the war — still faces many complexities and obstacles. In response to the stalling of the prisoner deal, voices of soldiers refusing to serve in Gaza have grown louder. Calls have also emerged going beyond the demand for an immediate and comprehensive prisoner exchange, reaching toward ending the suffering of Gaza's people and stopping the 'war of starvation.' Three hundred forty-one academics signed a document calling for an immediate end to the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and for allowing humanitarian aid to enter. They made a striking demand for what they called setting ethical limits for the army. This sparked widespread criticism after military officials confirmed that artillery fire would not stop in Gaza. After Hamas announced its readiness to show flexibility in the prisoner exchange negotiations, some expected Israel's permission for the United Arab Emirates to prepare to build a water pipeline to Gaza to mark a turning point in the war, which will enter its third year in three months.
Ya Libnan
8 hours ago
- Ya Libnan
Hezbollah commander Ali Abd al-Qader Ismail ‘killed' in Israeli strikes, claims IDF
Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war , the Israel Defence Forces on Saturday claimed to have killed a senior Hezbollah commander – Ali Abd al-Qader Ismail – in the Bint Jbeil sector, reported PTI . The IDF even claimed that Ali Abd al-Qader Ismail was one of the Hezbollah commanders who were involved in efforts to rehabilitate in southern Lebanon. In a post on X, the IDF said, 'ELIMINATED: Ali Abd al-Qader Ismail, a senior Hezbollah commander in the Bint Jbeil sector, involved in efforts to rehabilitate the terrorist organization in southern Lebanon. The IDF will continue to operate to remove any threat posed to the State of Israel.' Earlier, Israel Defence Minister Israel Katz visited the home of Sheikh Muafak Tarif in Syria's Julis – home of the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel. According to a statement by the Defense Ministry, Katz said the military would work to provide medical assistance to the Druze of southern Syria. In July, a Handala boat, carrying pro-Palestinian activists and humanitarian aid supplies approached the Gaza Strip , reported The Times of Israel , adding, they sailed from Sicily, following a month after Israel intercepted a different vessel that had made a high-profile attempt to break the maritime blockade on the Gaza Strip. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which operates Handala, also dispatched the earlier boat Madleen on a mission to challenge Israel's blockade on the Strip. The Times of Israel had earlier quoted US Secretary of State Marco Rubio telling former hostages and hostage families on Friday that the Donald Trump administration needs to 'rethink' its strategy regarding solving the war in Gaza . MINT
L'Orient-Le Jour
9 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Katz threatens Khamenei, says he could be directly targeted if new threats against Israel occur
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a warning to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during a tour of the Israeli army's Ramon air base. 'If you continue to threaten Israel, our long arm will reach Tehran again, with even more force. And this time, it will be you personally,' he said, according to Haaretz. The minister added: 'Don't make threats, or you will face the consequences.' On July 16, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had said that Tehran was ready to respond to any new military attack and capable of dealing 'a harder blow' to its adversaries than during last June's 12-day war. 'The fact that our nation is ready to confront the power of the United States and their lapdog, the Zionist regime [Israel,] is highly commendable,' the Iranian supreme leader said, in remarks reported by state television.
