A high-ranking Israeli defense official stated on Monday that President Donald Trump’s forthcoming visit to the Middle East presents a “window of opportunity” to negotiate a hostage agreement. Should this opportunity not materialize, Israel is prepared to initiate a new military operation in the Gaza Strip.
The official mentioned that “Operation ‘Gideon Chariots’ will commence with significant force and will continue until all objectives are fulfilled” if no hostage deal is reached, according to a Reuters report. This was in reference to a Sunday night decision by Israel’s security cabinet to escalate actions in the region.
Israel is planning to use the approximately 10-day period to prepare its new operations, which includes mobilizing tens of thousands of reserve soldiers with the aim of gaining control over the entire Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, meets with then-President-elect Donald Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff. (Photo by Prime Minister’s Media Adviser)
Comments made by Netanyahu last week sent ceasefire negotiators reeling after he, for the first time, confirmed that returning the hostages taken by Hamas nearly 580 days ago on Oct. 7, 2023 was not his top priority.
“We have many objectives, many goals in this war. We want to bring back all of our hostages,” Netanyahu said. “That is a very important goal. In war, there is a supreme objective. And that supreme objective is victory over our enemies. And that is what we will achieve.”
The Israeli prime minister also on Saturday justified his increasingly aggressive operations in Gaza that have resulted in the death of more than 50,000 in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, including more than 15,600 children as of late-March, as “a war between civilization and barbarism.”
The building belonging to the Berbag family was destroyed after an Israeli attack, leaving several Palestinians, including children, dead and wounded in Khan Yunis, Gaza, on Aug. 2, 2024. (Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Qatar, which has been heavily involved in hostage negotiations and ceasefire efforts, responded in a Saturday post on social media and said the comments “fall short of the most basic standards of political and moral responsibility.”
“Portraying the ongoing aggression against Gaza as a defense of ‘civilization’ echoes the rhetoric of regimes throughout history that have used false narratives to justify crimes against innocent civilians,” said Majed Al Ansari, advisor to Qatar Prime Minister Mohammad Al-Thani and spokesman for the foreign ministry.
Ansari did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions.
Fox News’ Yael Rotem-Kuriel contributed to this report.
