JERUSALEM, Israel – President Donald Trump is leaning on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to wrap up the war in Gaza. Yet, there are signs Israel is entering one of the decisive phases of the war.
In a phone call on Monday, the president, told Netanyahu, “I want you to end the war – finish it. The war is exhausting itself.” The story was reported by Israel’s Channel 12, without citing sources.
Israeli military expert Yaakov Lappin explained to CBN News why the progess in Gaza is steady, but slow.
“We have five IDF (Israel Defense Forces) maneuvering divisions that are slowly, but surely, and very systematically, taking control of more and more of the Gaza Strip. And the reason that they’re moving slowly and methodically is because Hamas has booby trapped – really, you know, in places like Yhan Younis – one out of every three buildings is booby trapped, according to the IDF personnel that are down there on the ground.”
Another major factor contributing to a Hamas defeat is the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s distribution of aid directly to the Palestinians.
“The reason that that’s very harmful to Hamas is because it takes away the dependency of the Gaza civilians on Hamas, and that removes its political power,” Lappin noted. “This is also a financial blow because Hamas sells excess aid that it hijacked, until now, on Gaza’s markets.”
Lappin contends that in many ways Israel is engaged in the most important phase of the war against Hamas.
The White House also is reported to have asked Netanyahu to back away from attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities as long as the U.S. and Iran are trying to strike a deal.
If negotiations fail, however, U.S. CENTCOM Commander, Gen. Michael Kurilla told House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Texas) that the U.S. is prepared to respond militarily against Iran.
Rogers asked during a Capitol Hill hearing, “If the president directed, is CENTCOM prepared to respond with overwhelming force to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran?”
Kurilla responded, “I have provided the secretary of defense and the president a wide range of options.” “I think that is a ‘Yes?'” Rogers said. Kurilla answered, “Yes.”
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On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Bloomberg News he doesn’t expect to see a Palestinian state in our lifetime.
In an interview with CBN News, Huckabee pushed back against French President Emmanuel Macron when he said he would declare a Palestinian state this week.
“If the president of France would like to have a Palestinian state, I suggested that he host one on the French Riviera. He has that property. That’s his. He can do what he wants,” Huckabee said.
He added, “But for him to impose something on a sovereign nation like Israel and tell them what they’re going to do, I thought not only was inappropriate on its face, but ill-timed. Israel’s in a war for its life.”
Macron later walked back his push for a Palestinian state.
