By Chris Menahan – Information Liberation
An anonymous source told the Washington Post in an article published on Monday that President Trump’s people told Israel that “we will abandon you” if you don’t end your war on Gaza, though another anonymous official has already denied the report to the Times of Israel.
From The Washington Post, “Netanyahu says ‘minimal’ aid will go to Gaza to preserve U.S. support”:
Israel plans to take control of all of the Gaza Strip while restarting “minimal” aid deliveries to the enclave, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday, describing potential mass starvation there as a “red line” that could cost Israel its support from the United States.
In a video posted on social media, Netanyahu said that while Israel was deploying “massive force to take control of all of the Gaza Strip … we cannot reach a point of starvation, for practical and diplomatic reasons.”
He said Israel’s “closest friends in the world,” including U.S. politicians who were “unwavering supporters of Israel for decades,” told him that they would arm Israel and defend it at the U.N. Security Council but that “they cannot handle pictures of mass starvation.”
The address came as Israeli troops expanded their ground operations in Gaza, ordering on Monday the forced evacuation of the southern city of Khan Younis, where residents reported heavy bombardment overnight. It was also the first time Israel has publicly acknowledged the threat of hunger in the territory, despite repeated warnings from global hunger experts, including this month, that the population was at risk of famine.
Israel halted all food, fuel and aid to Gaza on March 2 after an eight-week ceasefire with Hamas, imposing the longest siege of a war that started with the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. Two people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press, said that in talks with Hamas, the U.S. guaranteed Israel would allow some relief to enter Gaza if they released American Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, 21.
This is confirmation of Hamas’ claims in DropSiteNews’ report last week.
On Monday, Hamas official Basem Naim said the group welcomed the resumption of aid but did not say whether it was linked to Alexander’s release. In a statement on Facebook, he acknowledged that the amount of aid would be “insufficient … compared to the real needs of the people.” But, he said, Israel’s decision to allow some trucks in could “only be seen as a break in its will.”
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Monday that it was approached by Israeli authorities to “resume limited aid delivery” and that discussions around logistics were ongoing because of the rapidly changing situation on the ground.
Aid agencies said they were informed overnight that from Monday through Friday about 100 aid trucks per day would be allowed to enter. Late on Monday, COGAT, the Israeli Defense Ministry unit that coordinates civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said that five trucks of aid, including “food for babies,” had crossed into Gaza. At a briefing earlier in the day, foreign ministry official Edan Bar Tal said that only baby food would enter on Monday.
“A drop in the ocean,” Tom Fletcher, the U.N. emergency relief coordinator, said in a statement on X. “It must reach the civilians who need it so urgently, and we must be allowed to scale up.”
In Israel, Netanyahu’s sharp pivot followed new public and behind-the-scenes pressure from the Trump administration. During a tour of Persian Gulf nations last week, Trump said that “a lot of people are starving” in Gaza. Israel was excluded from the itinerary, in which Trump visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
“Trump’s people are letting Israel know, ‘We will abandon you if you do not end this war,'” said a person familiar with the discussions, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
It’s looking more and more like these anonymous leaks from Trump officials claiming they’re distancing the US from Israel and Netanyahu are just for show — perhaps part of a ruse to get Iran to take its guard down.
From The Times of Israel, “US official denies threat to ‘abandon’ Israel if it doesn’t end war in Gaza”:
A US official denies a Washington Post report citing an unnamed source who claimed the Trump administration would abandon Israel if it kept the war going in Gaza.
The US official says that there may be disagreements, but “the idea that we would abandon Israel is preposterous.”
Witkoff’s demand that Iran end all uranium enrichment is clearly a non-starter and only being put forward in bad faith to try and make it seem like the Iranians are unwilling to negotiate.
On the flip side, Iran last month put forward a deal where they would not acquire nuclear weapons and would allow US investment in their country to make massive profits pursuant to the US’ sanctions regime being lifted.
As Newsweek reported:
President Pezeshkian reiterated Iran’s position on nuclear weapons ahead of Saturday’s talks, declaring, “We are not after a nuclear bomb. You (in the West) have verified it 100 times. Do it 1,000 times again.” Pezeshkian also made a bold appeal, suggesting Iran would welcome American investment if a deal is reached. Some observers see his comments as a calculated appeal to President Trump’s business instincts.
“Iran’s leadership understands that Trump will want to boast that his deal with Iran will boost the American economy and American companies,” says Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, CEO of the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation, an economic think tank that tracks Iran. “They are looking at recent moves by the U.S. administration, such as the critical minerals deal pushed on Ukraine, and recognizing that Trump wants a business deal, not a nuclear deal. In fact, one of Trump’s criticisms of the nuclear deal was that it primarily benefited European companies while American firms were left on the sidelines.” he added.
Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian said: “I meet the supreme leader several times each week. He has no opposition to American investors in the country. Let them come and invest — but we oppose plotting, regime change efforts, and destructive policies. Iran is not a place for conspiracies or espionage followed by assassinations. Investors are welcome to invest in our country.”
Iran put forward the deal knowing it would be tremendously profitable for America but is likely going to go nowhere because it would be vociferously opposed by Israel.
Bibi gets what Bibi wants — and he doesn’t care if the Trump administration are is “fans.”
