Only Trump, Witkoff Can Save Gaza, Hostages Now

Aug. 3—Sources close to the White House and to the ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire/hostage exchange in Gaza say that only President Donald Trump and his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff can save remaining hostages held in savage captivity by Hamas and save the entire population from starvation and even worse humanitarian disaster than what already exists, as the result of the policy of deliberate extermination implemented at the hands of the Butcher of Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu.

These sources say that so far, Trump has refused to set the agenda for what must take place, and continues to try to work with Bibi, who one source says, has played him for a fool. "Israel must get the fuck out of Gaza and get out of the way, if any problem is to be solved," said one source with more than five decades experience in the region. "Trump is dismayed and disgusted with the conditions in Gaza. They are no mistake. The death and utter obliteration of what was once a livable place are the policy of Netanyahu. He wants the Palestinians to die. So, if you are going to do anything, anything that is human and for the benefit of human beings, you must seize the agenda and the ability to make policy from Bibi. He must be kicked in his nuts and told, we, the U.S, are in charge now. You do what I say, and I will tell you what the deal is. If Trump lets Witkoff do his job, there will be a new deal, that will release the hostages—all of them—and work out the details of what will come next."

Witkoff’s Direct Engagement with Hostage Families

Witkoff met with the families of hostages as they held an emergency protest in Tel Aviv Aug. 3, after the release of footage showing emaciated hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski. Family members who met with Witkoff said he assured them that the U.S. plans to push for a single hostage deal in which Hamas agrees to disarm and Netanyahu commits to ending the war in Gaza. Earlier in the week, he demanded and went on a tour of Gaza aid sites where, wherever he stopped, he was cheered by the Gazans who urged him and Trump to end the war.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Witkoff described the hostages' release as "a sacred mission" to President Donald Trump. It quoted him as saying that "Arab governments are now demanding Hamas demilitarize, so we are very, very close to a solution to end this war." One family member present at the meeting said Witkoff told him the Trump administration is working on a new solution to end the war that involves the mediating Arab nations and "the full power of the United States."

Internal Israeli Divisions and Military Fatigue

Witkoff needs an agreement from Israel, that as of now, immediately the war is over and will not start again, period. The Israel Defense Force leadership supports this position—it is only the Nazi jews in the cabinet [Bezalel] Smotrich [Finance Minister] and [Itamar] Ben-Gvir [National Security Minister] and the racist settler movement that they support that opposes this. Along with the murderer Bibi. A coalition for death. So, force the issue."

"IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has exhausted the military operation in Gaza; he believes it's now purposeless. His latest plan is to protect his depleted soldiers by forming defensive lines and pursuing intelligence-based strikes and assassinations. That's not the leverage Netanyahu imagined in the negotiations with Hamas, but he has no choice. The government has many strategists, but no one considered which soldiers would be fighting 22 months into a forever war," writes Haaretz commentator Chaim Levinson Aug. 3.

Humanitarian Aid and U.S. Leverage

How do you force this issue? the source asked. "Well, you say that U.S. is taking over Gaza, if you will not cooperate. Not to make into the Trump Riviera, but to end the suffering. You need to bring in massive aid, without any restriction and have reputable international authorities organize its distribution, to be assisted by the United States, including as needed the Army Corps of Engineers. But for this to work, the war must cease, all IDF operations must cease, except in assistance to the aid mission. You get this agreement, Hamas will be made to sign on, by the mediators.

"You must remember something," the source said. "Hamas is not a real political organization. It is a syncretic terrorist organization organized with Iranian support and support from Bibi himself, who used them against Fatah and the Palestinian Authority. Despite their orchestrated shows of support in past hostage release sick extravaganzas, they do not have the support of the Palestinian people. They are not like Hezbollah which is a political force in the West Bank and Lebanon. In retrospect, do you think Gazans supported Yahya Sinwar and Hamas drive to make a million Gazan martyrs in the wake of his savage Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel? As one Gazan told me, 'we support them because they have the guns.' They have killed almost as many Gazans as the Israelis. Israelis should stop worrying—if Gazans are given a fair choice, they would never choose Hamas to be their leaders."

Regional Pressure and Political Alternatives

Witkoff knows, if Trump does not yet understand, that the mediators, Qatar and Egypt have a lot to say about what Hamas does. If they continue to refuse to sign onto the new deal being worked out by Witkoff and Trump, the Qataris might just throw Hamas out of Doha. Those leaders would not be taken in by any other country in the region, and they may not even be accepted by Hezbollah. Bibi has said that he would exterminate all of them, if given a chance.

This and other sources were asked to comment about the recent spate of announcements from European and other governments that they would soon recognize the State of Palestine. "As a statement of political support for the Palestinian people as they are under genocidal attack, this is very important," said the source with the decades of experience in the region. "But, as with most things done by the Europeans, there is a lot of foolish handwaving involved. Right now, there is no viable state that can be created from the occupied territories. There is more to a state than establishing borders and such. There is right now no viable economy that makes such a state prosper. That will need to be dealt with in the discussion of the development plan for Gaza and for other great projects for the region such as the Schiller Institute's Oasis Plan, which is gaining some traction."

As for the political solution on who could rule Gaza, before a state is created, and to cooperate with and oversee the redevelopment, in which Egypt and other regional powers will play a major role, this source suggested that there is one leader, non-Hamas, in fact an enemy of Hamas, Magowan Barghouti, the Fatah leader, who sits in an Israeli prison and whom Israel has refused to release, who commands the respect of the Gazans and Palestinian people. Meanwhile, the source suggested that while some competent people in a disarmed Hamas might have something to add to this process, they would not be allowed to participate in the post-war rule. The source suggested that they might form some kind of "watchdog committee" and participate in that way.

Mounting Casualties and Media Investigations

But first things first: For any of this to work, Trump and Witkoff must drop the hammer on Bibi and soon. The longer they wait, the more innocent people will die, in the holocaust that Netanyahu has unleashed.

"Israeli discourse around the casualty figures [in Gaza] is poisoned, saturated with conspiracy theories and lies. Contrary to common perception in the Israeli public, no serious party actually disputes the numbers from Gaza's Health Ministry. Not only is there no competing Israeli figure, but independent checks and investigations by researchers and journalists have found that the Gaza ministry's numbers are conservative relative to the reality, as many of the dead are not even included on the official lists. Sky News' investigation, for instance, found that 40 people killed on the night of March 18 were not listed at all," writes Nir Hasson in Haaretz Aug. 3.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Aug. 2 that 83 Palestinians were killed and 1,079 were wounded in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip in the previous 24 hours.