Israel sets deadline: Large offensive will start after Trump’s Middle East visit unless Hamas releases hostages

Israel will give Hamas a last chance to agree to a hostage deal until after the Middle East visit of U.S. President Donald Trump next week, an Israeli official told local media outlets on Monday.

The senior security official stressed that without an agreement according to the Witkoff proposal, the new offensive dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots” would “begin with great force and will not stop until all its objectives are achieved.”

The Israeli cabinet approved plans for a large-scale, new offensive in Gaza on Sunday evening. “That was the chief of staff’s recommendation – to move, as he said, toward the defeat of Hamas,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a video message on Monday.

“He believes this will also help us rescue the hostages. I agree with him. We are not letting up on this effort and will not give up on anyone.”

Netanyahu stressed: “One thing will be clear – we’re not going in and out [of Gaza] just to call up reserves so they’ll come and seize territory, we withdraw from territory, and carry out raids on what remains… That’s not the intention. What’s our intention? The opposite.”

Israeli officials have emphasized that the new offensive would follow a different strategy than previous maneuvers, which were led by the previous IDF chief of staff and defense minister.

The new strategy, formulated by IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir will see the capture of territory and a long-term presence of Israeli soldiers there.

“A central component of the plan is the wide evacuation of the entire Gazan population from combat zones, including from northern Gaza, to areas in southern Gaza, while creating separation between them and the Hamas terrorists – in order to allow the IDF operational freedom of action,” the security official stated.

“Unlike in the past, the IDF will remain in every area that is taken, in order to prevent the return of terror, and will treat each cleared area according to the Rafah model in which all threats were flattened and it became part of the security zone.”

This, in essence, is the core of the controversial “General’s Plan,” which had been considered and rejected by the political echelon for months.

The official added that the prevention of humanitarian aid into Gaza would continue until “the wide evacuation of the population to the south,” when the new humanitarian aid distribution mechanism will be enacted.

The new humanitarian plan “will differentiate between the aid and Hamas by operating civilian companies and demarcating the area, which will be secured by the IDF, including the demarcation of a sterile area in the Rafah region beyond the Morag route, where those entering will be filtered by the IDF to prevent the presence of Hamas operatives,” the official explained.

He also emphasized that the “voluntary emigration plan for Gaza residents, particularly for those who will be concentrated in the south outside of Hamas control, will be part of the operation’s objectives.”

The Israeli leadership appears to have decided on a broad change of strategy, as the official added that Israel would “strive to retain in its hands the areas that were cleared and annexed to the security zone beyond the March lines” even if a new offensive was forestalled by a potential hostage deal.

“In any temporary or permanent arrangement, Israel will not evacuate the security zone around Gaza, which is intended to protect the communities and prevent weapons smuggling to Hamas,” he declared.