(ZeroHedge)—President Trump in remarks to reporters Monday predicted that the war in Gaza will come to a “conclusive ending” within the next two to three weeks.
He said in the Oval Office that “I think within the next two to three weeks, you’re going to have a pretty good, conclusive – a conclusive ending.” But the entirely difficult question of how this might come about was not addressed.
But Trump also seemed to hedge his bet, chalking up the Gaza crisis to rampant and long-running instability in the region: “It’s a hard thing to say because they’ve been fighting for thousands of years. But I think we’re doing a very good job,” he claimed.
He again reiterated, “But people can’t forget October 7” – identifying the initial Hamas attack as the cause of the ongoing war since 2023. On the question of admin efforts to achieve a peace settlement, Trump described that “There has been… a very serious diplomatic push.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio then chimed in during the Oval presser, saying, “We want it to end” – but “it has to end with no Hamas.”
So clearly the White House is at this moment still fully backing a military solution, after earlier this month essentially giving a greenlight for the new Israeli military assault on Gaza City.
It appears that Trump is predicting it will take two to three weeks to completely conquer and pacify Gaza, but he downplayed or ignored the brutality of it, and daily soaring death toll:
“Right now, they’re talking about Gaza City. They’re always talking about something,” and added, “At some point, it’s going to get settled… You better get it settled soon.”
He did say he’s “not happy” when he hears news of civilians, journalists, and medical workers being killed.
Trump also seems to be signaling Netanyahu to wrap up these high death toll miliary operations ‘soon’ – but while not threatening anything serious like cutting off the US arms pipeline or billions of dollars sent to Tel Aviv.
Below: Trump’s similar hawkish comments on Gaza in late July…
One eyewitness to Monday’s deadly attacks which killed at least 5 journalists among 20 total people slain at Nasser hospital described seeing “bodies everywhere“:
Saber al-Asmar, a doctor in the Intensive Care Unit at Nasser hospital who witnessed the attack this morning, says staff members were continuing to help wounded Palestinians with the few supplies they have when the air strikes shook the facility.
“Patients were freaked out, and everything looked dark…we called the civil defence [teams] to go to the place that was targeted and then another big airstrike happened,” al-Asmar told Al Jazeera.
“We still can’t comprehend what happened now or next. The situation is horrible. We have seen bodies everywhere…they [Israeli forces] targeted the floor where the operating rooms are,” he added.
Meanwhile, the US Ambassador to Israel…
Monday’s events could see European nations impose harsher, punishing measures on Israel. Some governments are actually talking sanctions on Israel for the first time – but most European capitals remain deeply divided on the matter of what’s next, other than purely symbolic actions like acknowledging a ‘state of Palestine’.
