Trump Issues Clearest Greenlight For Netanyahu’s Offensive To ‘Confront & Destroy’ Hamas To Date

President Trump on Monday issued a scorching message aimed at Hamas as well as the growing internationall and domestic critics of America’s Israel policy. He called for the total destruction of Hamas and the return of the hostages, in that order.

“The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be,” he wrote on Truth Social. This is one of the clearest ‘greenlights’ for Netanyahu’s expanded Gaza operations to date, and it cleary backs his government’s pursuit of a military solution, as opposed to attempting to renew or prioritize negotiations for a hostage exchange.

In bizarre language which sounds more like an enthusiastic gambler preparing to enter the casino, Trump declared after reviewing his recent Middle East ‘accomplishments’: “Play to WIN, or don’t play at all!”

This comes on the heels of a weekend which saw more mass anti-Netanyahu protests across Israeli cities, especially in Tel Aviv. Also, President Trump held a phone call with PM Netanyahu on Sunday.

Netanyahu’s office said they “discussed Israel’s plans to take control of the remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza in order to bring an end to the war through the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas.”

Trump in a follow-up interview with Axios said of the terror group, “they can’t stay there” – and explained: “I have one thing to say: remember October 7, remember October 7.”

Netananyahu told a Sunday press briefing that he has requested the Israel Defense Forces to present plans for “taking over” Gaza City.

There are reports saying the Israeli government is planning to ‘move’ Palestinian civilians into massive tent cities, with tents being provided and erected by the Israelis – but international war monitors and human rights groups have decried this as ethnic cleansing – but dressed up in humanitarian language, given the creation and publicizing of yet more sprawling refugee camps.

Thousands of Israelis stayed home from work, flooded city streets and blocked roads and highways across the country on Sunday, staging some of the largest anti-war protests in months as the military prepares for a major assault on Gaza City. https://t.co/S4eBx4BWzE pic.twitter.com/OunIurUPEg

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 17, 2025

Below is a Monday update of some of the latest major developments via Al Jazeera:

• The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza says the death toll from Israel’s war has surpassed 62,000 with 60 people killed and 344 injured in the latest 24-hour reporting period.
• Hospitals say 27 people seeking aid have been killed and 281 injured over the past day, bringing the total death toll of aid seekers to 1,965.
• The ministry also confirms five new deaths from famine and malnutrition, including two children, raising the overall toll from hunger-related causes to 263, among them 112 children.
• Israel continues its attacks across the Gaza Strip, including a strike on the Daraj neighbourhood in Gaza City that killed three Palestinians, among them a child.
• Amnesty International has accused Israel of enacting a “deliberate policy” of starvation in Gaza, citing testimony from displaced Palestinians and doctors treating malnourished children.
• Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar says he has revoked visas of Australian representatives to the Palestinian Authority after Canberra denied entry to far-right Israeli MP Simcha Rothman.
• Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, says it will exclude six companies tied to Gaza and the West Bank from its portfolio after a review of Israeli investments.

Tent cities have already been expanding outside Gaza city and in various districts.

Food scarcity has continued to be an immense and dire problem, and something expected to worsen as civilians are driven out of Gaza City by the looming new Israeli ground offensive.