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