Trump admin presses Israel to return to Gaza truce talks, delay offensive: report

The Trump administration is reportedly putting pressure on Israel to return to ceasefire negotiations as part of a last-ditch push for an agreement before the Israeli military launches its full-scale ground offensive in Gaza.

Two sources have told The Jerusalem Post that US officials have pressed the Netanyahu government to delay plans for its anticipated invasion of the Palestinian territory and told it to re-engage in truce talks.

This comes only a few days after the Israeli prime minister instructed his negotiating team to quit the talks and leave Qatar.

The Israeli government earlier this month approved plans for a full-scale invasion of the Gaza Strip, which it says is aimed at occupying the entire territory.

Extremist members of the cabinet say they plan to completely destroy what remains of Gaza and drive its 2.2 million residents to the south of the territory before expelling them to third countries.

The ground operation will likely spell the end of the ceasefire negotiations. "Once the manoeuvre begins, we will act with full force and will not stop until all objectives are achieved", Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said this week.

The military said Saturday that all infantry units and armoured brigades have now been deployed inside Gaza in preparation for the advance.

Israel has issued a series of displacement orders in northern Gaza over the past week, forcing more than 160,000 people to flee.

According to the UN, more than 80% of the territory is now effectively off limits for Palestinians due to Israel expanding its "security zones" and the new displacement orders.

Israel has launched an intense bombing campaign across Gaza ahead of the ground offensive, killing dozens of civilians each day and targeting hospitals across the strip.

The three countries trying to mediate an end to the conflict – Qatar, Egypt and the US – failed to break the deadlock in the latest round of talks in Doha.

Israel continues to rule out ending the war until Hamas surrenders while the Palestinian group refuses to agree to another truce without a US guarantee that the war will end.

Hamas has offered to release all the remaining Israeli captives and cede control of Gaza to a technocratic administration in return for a permanent end to the war. Meanwhile, Israel insists that the only deal on the table includes the release of 10 of the captives and a 60-day ceasefire.

The US has reportedly continued to engage with Hamas indirectly via Palestinian-American academic and Trump ally Bishara Bahbah.