As

 

I was just saying.

Israel plans to occupy 

and flatten 

all of Gaza 

if no deal by Trump's trip

Axios 5/5/25

"Israel has set President Trump's visit to the Middle East next week as a deadline for a new hostage and ceasefire deal, with a massive ground operation to commence if no deal is reached, Israeli officials say."

Why it matters: 

"Israel's Security Cabinet approved a plan Sunday night to gradually reoccupy all of Gaza and hold it indefinitely if no deal is reached by May 15. 

(Next Friday)

"Plans for the operation call for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to flatten any buildings that remain standing and displace virtually the entire population of 2 million people to a single "humanitarian area."

"The alternative to remaining in the humanitarian zone is for Palestinians to leave the enclave "voluntarily" for other countries "in line with President Trump's vision for Gaza," an Israeli official said."

"Such departures could hardly be considered voluntary, and no country has agreed thus far to accept displaced Palestinians. Israeli officials claim there are ongoing negotiations with several countries on that front."

"Split screen: 

Trump will travel to the Middle East starting Monday for a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates."

"The optics around President Trump's visit to the region in the context of the war in Gaza are very bad. He made a big splash pushing for a ceasefire before his inauguration and got it done, but three months later the situation in Gaza is worse," an Arab official said."

"All efforts to span that gap have failed. The White House focus has shifted to the Russia-Ukraine war"

(They mean the one 

were not having anything 

to do with any more?)

and nuclear talks with Iran, 

with little to no bandwidth for Gaza, 

Israeli and U.S. officials say."

"According to the plan, the IDF would invade Gaza with four or five armored and infantry divisions and gradually occupy and hold most of the strip."

"Israel's ultranationalist finance minister Betzalel Smotrich said Monday that the occupation would be permanent and the IDF wouldn't pull back even in return for the release of the hostages."

(Me and honey have maintained all along

its never been about Gaza or Hamas.

It's always been about Irans nukes.)

"As the IDF occupies parts of Gaza, it will flatten all buildings and work on destroying tunnel networks, as it did previously in Rafah and in the northern Gaza Strip."

(They are simply going to make it uninhabitable.)

"The Israeli Cabinet decision is highly controversial domestically, especially because it entails the mobilization of 70,000 reservists, most of whom have served for more than 300 days since the Oct. 7 attacks."

"The IDF is concerned that 30-50% of the reservists won't show up, officials say."

What's next: 

"The preparations for the operation allow a window of opportunity until the end of President Trump's trip to the region to reach a hostage and ceasefire deal. If no deal is reached, the operation will go forward," an Israeli official said."