Trump Meets With Top Advisers to Discuss Future of Gaza

Latest Developments

Meeting to Discuss ‘Day After’ in Gaza: President Donald Trump convened a meeting with top national security advisers to discuss a possible joint U.S.-Israeli “day after” plan for the Gaza Strip. While the White House issued no readouts of the meeting, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff stated earlier that the administration is putting together a “very comprehensive plan,” adding that he believed it could end the Israel-Hamas war by the end of the year. Besides Witkoff, the meeting was also attended by Trump’s son-in-law and former adviser, Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer. Earlier in the day, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar at the State Department.
IDF Reiterates Evacuation Warnings for Gaza City: The White House meeting came as Israeli troops prepared for a ground offensive against Hamas’s last stronghold in Gaza City, with the IDF reissuing calls for civilians to evacuate Gaza City toward the south of the coastal enclave. IDF Arabic spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee stated that the city’s evacuation was “inevitable,” promising that those who heeded the order would “receive the most generous humanitarian aid.” UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Ramiz Alakbarov warned that expanded “military operations in Gaza City will have catastrophic consequences, including displacing hundreds of thousands,” in an area that is “sinking deeper into disaster.”
Israel Urges UN to Retract ‘Famine’ Report: The Israeli Foreign Ministry announced on August 27 that it sent a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres demanding a retraction of the recent report issued by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) — a global consortium that assesses food insecurity — which declared that parts of Gaza are experiencing famine. The report cited “reasonable evidence” but not “solid evidence” that, since August 15, the area has met the IPC’s three main criteria for declaring a famine, affecting an estimated 514,000 people. Foreign Ministry General Director Eden Bar Tal called the report “fabricated” and claimed that the IPC deliberately ignored its own evidence standards to reach a “prefabricated conclusion of famine” in support of Hamas’s “fake starvation propaganda.” Bar Tal threatened that Israel would launch a campaign to encourage countries that donate funds to the IPC to halt their support if the report is not rescinded.

FDD Expert Response

“The timing of the ‘day after’ planning meeting ahead of the Gaza City operation is meaningful and correct. To prevent Gaza from being a threat to Israel, Hamas’s military capabilities must be destroyed, and the enclave must be stabilized. Despite the devastation to the region, Hamas has refused to back down and has once again dug in around Gaza City. If the IDF does not eliminate the threat, then Israel’s southern communities will not be safe from terror. Equally, if Israel and the international community do not create an alternative leadership structure, Gaza will continue to threaten the Jewish state. A dual approach is needed that includes military planning alongside statecraft.” — Enia Krivine, Senior Director of FDD’s Israel Program and National Security Network

“While the IDF continues to issue evacuation warnings to Palestinian civilians in Gaza City, these same messages reach Hamas and its allied factions. By publicly signaling its intentions, the IDF provides its foes with an opportunity to prepare defensive positions and stage ambushes within the city. Although the IDF is likely aware of this tactical consequence, it faces an operational dilemma: how to balance humanitarian notification with the element of surprise.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst and Editor at FDD’s Long War Journal