The Israel Defense Forces will launch a major offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip if no hostage deal is reached with the terror group by the end of US President Donald Trump’s visit to the region next week, a senior Israeli defense official said Monday.

The warning came after the security cabinet on Sunday night approved a plan to significantly broaden the military offensive against Hamas, and as the IDF was calling up tens of thousands of reservists.

The plan provided for the “conquering of Gaza” and retaining the territory, an Israeli official said. The plan also included moving the Palestinian civilian population toward the south of the Strip, attacking Hamas, and preventing the terror group from taking control of humanitarian aid supplies.

Trump is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates between May 13 and May 16, the White House has said.

The defense official, in a statement to reporters, said the objective of the planned offensive, dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots,” was “the defeat of Hamas in Gaza and the release of all the hostages.”

The official added that plans to allow Gazans to voluntarily emigrate abroad, “especially those concentrated in the south outside of Hamas control,” were also part of the offensive’s objectives.

He said the IDF would “bolster its forces and operate with intensity to defeat Hamas and destroy its military and governmental capabilities, while creating strong pressure for the release of all hostages.”

According to the official, “a central component of the plan is the extensive evacuation of the entire Gazan population from combat zones, including from northern Gaza, to areas in southern Gaza, while creating separation between them and Hamas terrorists, to allow the IDF operational freedom of action.”

“Unlike in the past, the IDF will remain in every area that is conquered, to prevent the return of terror, and will handle every cleared area according to the Rafah model, where all threats were leveled and it became part of the security zone,” he said, referring to an Israeli-held buffer zone.

The official said the “blockade” on humanitarian aid entering would continue, and “only later, after the beginning of operational activity and a broad evacuation of the population to the south, a humanitarian plan will be implemented.”

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© The Times of Israel