‘Remember Oct 7’: Trump affirms support for Israel while PM Netanyahu now said to exclude another ‘partial’ deal

U.S. President Donald Trump reaffirmed his support for Israel but said it was up to the Israeli government to decide how to proceed, without explicitly endorsing the planned new Gaza offensive.

Speaking with the Axios news outlet, Trump generally agreed with statements by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Hamas is the source of the problem in Gaza, saying he believed the terror group would not agree to free the hostages.

Netanyahu’s plan to take over the rest of the Gaza Strip has drawn criticism from within the Israeli military, with some warning it could endanger the hostages.

Trump told Axios that he always thought it would be “very rough to get them,” because Hamas “are not going to let the hostages out in the current situation.”

“I have one thing to say: remember October 7, remember October 7,” Trump emphasized, adding that, in his opinion, Hamas “can't stay there.”

On Sunday, Netanyahu and Trump spoke by phone, and according to the Prime Minister's Office, they discussed Israel’s plans to take control of the remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza with the aim of ending the war, securing the hostages’ release, and defeating Hamas.

Trump confirmed that the two leaders had a “good call” on Sunday, without elaborating.

In recent weeks, the Trump administration and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff have reportedly concluded that Hamas will not agree to another arrangement that secures the release of only some of the remaining hostages – a so-called “partial deal.”

On Tuesday, Israeli media reported that Netanyahu has now adopted the same view, after initially indicating a willingness to postpone or halt the planned offensive if Hamas returns to the negotiating table.

“The prime minister would be willing to hold negotiations [for a deal] under conditions that we set for ending the war – and only if all the hostages were to be returned. Until then, we will not participate whatsoever in negotiations,” Channel 12 News reported, citing sources close to Netanyahu.

On this issue, the prime minister reportedly aligned with his close advisor, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, deciding against the position favored by National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi.

According to several Israeli news reports, during the Cabinet meeting that approved the new offensive, Dermer argued, “We don’t have all the time [we want], also from the Trump point of view. He cannot allow the war to continue for a long time.”

Dermer reportedly said that “assuming talks continue for a long time, we can’t afford a partial deal. I’m not sure that after a 60-day truce we’ll have the leeway to return to fighting.”

On the other side of the debate, Hanegbi argues that the government should seize every possible opportunity to rescue the hostages: “I don’t understand how someone who saw the videos of [hostages] Evyatar [David] and Rom [Braslavski], as well as all the others that were published before them, can say: ‘Everything or nothing’.”

“The significance of this [decision] is giving up on the chance to immediately save 10 hostages,” Hanegbi was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Channel 12 reported that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who had threatened to leave the government over reports that Netanyahu was open to another partial deal, was now satisfied with the prime minister..

Smotrich will reportedly remain in the government but still demands that Netanyahu declare his new position in public, after refusing to speak on the issue in the past days.