Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has trapped himself in a predicament that requires him to either bow out of power or drag his whole state down with him. In over 18 months, Israel has failed to defeat any of its enemies and escalation in Gaza could be the most dangerous decision he has taken yet.

While the Israeli prime minister insists on continuing the war on Gaza, holding to his pledge to “crush and destroy” Hamas, he has failed to do so and according to his own nation’s intelligence estimates, the victory he speaks of is nowhere in sight. Now, Netanyahu has declared a new military operation in the Gaza Strip, labelling it “Gideon’s Chariots,” allegedly seeking the re-occupation of the entirety of the besieged coastal territory.

Just prior to this, the US brokered a historic direct deal with Hamas to release an Israeli-American dual national, Idan Alexander; a soldier who had been taken as a prisoner of war on October 7, 2023. In return, Hamas say they were informed that the US was going to pressure Israel to allow in humanitarian aid to Gaza after an eight-week total blockade.

Instead of permitting the entrance of humanitarian aid, Israel decided to ramp up its bombing campaign, displacing over 300,000 Palestinians and killing around 300 in only 48 hours. Afterwards, Israeli PM Netanyahu stated publicly that even in the event that all the captives held in Gaza are returned, he will not end the war.

However, prior to US President Donald Trump’s trip to the Arabian Peninsula last week, a series of stories were published in the Israeli and international press, claiming that a major feud was brewing between Netanyahu and the American leader.

So the narrative went, anonymous sources claimed that Trump had cut off direct communication with his Israeli counterpart, and that he was snubbing Netanyahu by not visiting Israel during his trip to the region and even that he was going to recognize a Palestinian State.

Not only did Trump deny a schism between himself and Netanyahu in a recent Fox News interview, he even claimed that October 7, 2023, was one of the most violent days in history, which is, to say the least, a ridiculous assertion by any standard.

Then came Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s interview with CBS News this Saturday, where he stated that the US supports the destruction of Hamas, while also saying the US seeks a deal to allow the release of more Israeli captives. It is clear from his language that Rubio has adopted the same stance as Israel, and that the war won’t stop until Hamas is defeated; in other words, the Israeli soldiers being held captive in Gaza are not the reason for the war.

Anonymous claims of the US president standing up to Israel are not new. In December of 2023, former........

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