OAN Staff Blake Wolf
4:24 PM – Sunday, August 10, 2025
President Donald Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the phone on Sunday after the Israeli security cabinet greenlit Netanyahu’s plan to engage in a full-scale military occupation of Gaza to destroy the remaining Hamas strongholds and attempt to retrieve the remaining hostages.
Netanyahu’s office announced the call in an X post, writing: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has just spoken with US President @realDonaldTrump. The two discussed Israel’s plans for taking control of the remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza in order to bring about the end of the war, the release of the hostages, and the defeat of Hamas.”
Netanyahu claimed that the objective of the new offensive is “not to occupy Gaza,” but rather to “free Gaza from Hamas terrorists.”
The Israeli prime minister went on to explain that Israel will install a Palestinian civilian administration in Gaza in the aftermath of the new offensive campaign.
“There are several candidates that we’re talking about, several constructs,” he continued, explaining that “no one’s going to go in there unless we finish Hamas.”
In response to the new Israeli offensive, the families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza have called for a nationwide general strike.
“We are shutting down the country to save the soldiers and the hostages,” stated the relatives of the hostages in Tel Aviv, along with the October 7 Council, an organization that represents IDF soldiers who were killed at the beginning of the war.
“Hundreds” of companies reportedly agreed to participate in the strike, according to the October 7 Council.
Anat Angrest, mother of Matan, a hostage being held in Gaza, called on the leaders of labor unions to join the strike, warning that “your silence is killing our children.”
“I know your hearts are with us and in pain, but that is not enough. Silence kills. That is why I am here today to ask for something I have avoided until now – to ask the heads of industry: you have the power,” Angrest stated.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an organization representing the families of hostages in Gaza, stated that the “decision to pursue occupation of the Gaza Strip means abandoning the hostages, while completely ignoring the repeated warnings from military leadership and the clear will of the majority of the Israeli public.”
Netanyahu’s decision to order a full-scale occupation of Gaza could potentially endanger the lives of the Israeli hostages, as Hamas terrorists have repeatedly stated that they will execute the hostages should they feel the IDF is closing in on them.
Netanyahu’s ongoing campaign in Gaza has faced international backlash, even from Western allies, due to the horrific videos and images depicting starving children and Palestinians swarming to aid stations.
Around 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, with roughly 70% of the deaths being attributed to children, according to the United Nations, citing the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which Israeli officials have denounced as propaganda.
Undisputed independent verification of the death toll figures has yet to be determined, as international journalists have widely been barred by the Israeli government from entering Gaza and verifying the death toll, as well as claims of war crimes, since the beginning of the war.
Additionally, Netanyahu defended the recently approved plan on Sunday while accusing the media of promoting “fake” news of Palestinian children starving.
President Trump previously broke away from Netanyahu’s assertion that there is no mass starvation in Gaza.
At the end of July, President Trump was asked if he agreed with Netanyahu’s assessment of the situation, to which he responded: “I don’t know … those children look very hungry … that’s real starvation stuff.”
Earlier this week, President Trump signaled that the United States would not object to Israel’s new offensive push in Gaza, stating: “I know that we are there now trying to get people food. … As far as the rest of it, I really can’t say. That’s going to be pretty much up to Israel.”
As the new offensive in Gaza ramps up, American support for the war continues to plummet, according to a recent Gallup poll, which found that Americans largely disapprove of Israel’s military action in Gaza.
American approval ratings for Israel’s military action in Gaza fell to 32% at the end of July, marking a large shift from directly after the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, when 50% of Americans approved of the Israeli military’s war in Gaza.
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