Ending The War

I know I’ve speculated over and over again on how the war in Israel ends, but Prime Minister Netanyahu says that he’s adding a goal to the list as we read in a report from World Israel News:

During his first press conference since 2024, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited US President Donald Trump’s Gaza relocation plan as a condition for ending the war in Gaza.

Netanyahu explains the new goals this way:

“I am ready to end the war on clear conditions that will guarantee Israel’s security: the release of the hostages, the removal of Hamas from power, full disarmament, and we are implementing the Trump plan.”

The US plan brought up by Trump is pretty simple:

Shortly after taking office for the second time, Trump announced a plan for Gaza that would “permanently” resettle the civilian population in third-party countries, with the US taking control of the coastal enclave and rebuilding it as a Middle Eastern “Riviera.”

The plan is still controversial even now, but it makes sense considering that some estimates say that 92% of Gazan buildings and homes are destroyed. But the push for an actual state for the Gazans to call their own in the Gaza Strip is a hard one to let go. That aside, the PM then talked about the war itself, specifically the hostages:

Netanyahu praised the accomplishments of the war in Gaza so far and the return of most of the hostages, announcing that there are currently 20 hostages still alive.

“We have returned so far 197 hostages, of whom 148 are alive. 20 are alive; we will return them all,” he said.

He is still alright with a temporary ceasefire if it gets hostages back:

He added that he would consider hostage deals coinciding with temporary ceasefires.

“If there is an opportunity for a temporary ceasefire to return hostages, we are prepared for it,” he said.

Netanyahu also addressed the humanitarian aid that so many countries are bringing up:

Netanyahu defended his decision to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip despite harsh criticism from ministers, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who claimed the policy was “giving oxygen” to Hamas.

How the aid is given out must change in his opinion and part of this plan must include the Gazans being totally separated from Hamas influence:

He said that to maintain a close relationship with Israel’s allies, his government must play a role in averting a humanitarian crisis in Gaza while ensuring the aid delivered doesn’t fall into the hands of Hamas. Netanyahu described the three-phase plan, beginning with “basic food now,” to prevent the humanitarian crisis, partnering with US companies to open up distribution points in Gaza and the creation of a “sterile zone” in Gaza that will allow Palestinian civilians to seek shelter.

“In this zone, which will be free of Hamas, residents of Gaza will receive full humanitarian aid,” he explained.

Israel Could Be Hitting Iran

In an article from The Gateway Pundit we hear that Israel may be getting ready to take out Iran’s nuclear sites:

Israel is preparing to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to a leak to CNN.

The US apparently is hearing rumblings of the attack:

CNN reported on Tuesday that the United States obtained new intel suggesting Israel is currently planning on striking Iran’s nuclear and uranium enrichment facilities.

No final decision has been made, according to CNN.

There are still talks over ending the nuclear program, but the topic of enriching Uranium is the hitching point now:

President Trump recently demanded that Tehran stop enriching Uranium.

Iran’s Supreme Leader blasted the Trump Admin on Tuesday and said the Islamic Republic will continue to pursue their own policies.

We read his comments from Khamenei’s X account:

For the Americans to say, “We won’t allow Iran to enrich uranium,” is utter nonsense. We aren’t waiting for anyone’s permission. The Islamic Republic has certain policies, and it will pursue them.

We get more information from the CNN report itself:

The US has obtained new intelligence suggesting that Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, even as the Trump administration has been pursuing a diplomatic deal with Tehran, multiple US officials familiar with the latest intelligence told CNN.

Hitting Iran without the US helping or approving goes against Trump’s goals of avoiding military conflict until a diplomatic deal can be reached:

Such a strike would be a brazen break with President Donald Trump, US officials said. It could also risk tipping off a broader regional conflict in the Middle East — something the US has sought to avoid since the war in Gaza inflamed tensions beginning in 2023.

The leak does mention that there is still some uncertainty of the Israeli strikes and it centers around those nuclear talks that appear to be stalled now:

Officials caution it’s not clear that Israeli leaders have made a final decision, and that in fact, there is deep disagreement within the US government about the likelihood that Israel will ultimately act. Whether and how Israel strikes will likely depend on what it thinks of the US negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program.

Another source told CNN that regardless of the leak the chances of Israel taking action are going up:

But “the chance of an Israeli strike on an Iranian nuclear facility has gone up significantly in recent months,” said another person familiar with US intelligence on the issue. “And the prospect of a Trump-negotiated US-Iran deal that doesn’t remove all of Iran’s uranium makes the chance of a strike more likely.”

With Hamas rejecting any new hostage deal and now Iran drawing a nuclear line in the sand, military actions are looking like the only options on the table. And as we pray for the peace of Jerusalem we need to factor in a high likelihood of increased offensives in the region to come sooner than later.