WhatsappDespite President Trump claiming that Hamas and Israel are close to a ceasefire, the IDF continues to push forward into the Khan Yunis, ordering the entire “civilian” populace to evacuate to the Al Muwasi humanitarian zone.
This evacuation essentially applies to the southern third of the Gaza Strip, which means the IDF is not slowing down its offensive despite whatever pressure is coming from the US administration - if any.
“We are intensifying our activity in accordance with the orderly plan. Hamas is under tremendous pressure; it has lost most of its assets and its command and control,” Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said during a tour of southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, alongside Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor. “We will activate all of our tools so that we can return the hostages home, defeat Hamas, and dismantle its rule.”
With the military offensive surging forward, it is hard to understand what deal President Trump was referring to. According to reports in the Arab media, the deal on the table that Hamas was said to agree to was a 70 day ceasefire that would see 5 living hostages released in the beginning of the deal and 5 more released at the end of the deal with 16 bodies of hostages returned. Hamas was also said to demand the release of all terrorists from Gaza imprisoned in Israel, both before and after the October 7 massacre.
Israel responded to the reports by rejecting the deal. “The proposal received by Israel cannot be accepted by any responsible government,” a government official told the media. “Hamas is setting impossible conditions that mean a complete failure to meet the war goals, and an inability to release the hostages,” he said.
With 40% of Gaza already under IDF control, it is hard to imagine why Israel would weaken its position in ceasefire talks. The IDF has said that it believes within two months 75% of Gaza will be under its control and 8 new food distribution centers will be set up to bypass what remains of Hamas.
The goal of the war is ultimately to destroy Hamas and its satellite groups. As the IDF closes in, Hamas or whatever is left of it will have no choice but to exchange the remaining hostages for free passage out of the Gaza Strip. While its true, President Trump wants an end to the war, there is only one way other than the current offensive that will quickly wrap it up. President Trump can if he wants use his new found connections to Qatar and ask them to surrender – after all they are the puppeteers behind Hamas. If the President is not willing to do this then Israel has no choice but to completely wipe out Hamas and their supporters across the Gaza Strip and then permanently reoccupy the Gaza Strip. Anything short of this will keep the war going.
