‘Senior Israeli official’ claims multiple countries interested in taking in Gazans

A “senior Israeli official” briefing reporters during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to Hungary said Friday that Jerusalem is in contact with multiple countries about taking in Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

The official defended Israel’s renewed offensive in Gaza, while acknowledging that the Hamas terror group — which still holds 59 hostages, 24 of whom are presumed to be alive — has yet to change its negotiating stance.

In addition, the “senior Israeli official” addressed tensions with Turkey, new tariffs issued by the US, and the International Criminal Court’s effort to prosecute Israeli officials for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

While the US is reportedly not actively working to advance US President Donald Trump’s plan to take over the Strip and permanently relocate all of its Palestinians, Israel is very serious about it, continued the official, claiming that several countries are interested.

“They want something in return — not necessarily money, but also strategic matters,” the official said.

“We want to free the hostages and eliminate Hamas and then there is a possibility for wide-scale emigration,” he claimed, citing an unspecified poll that found 60 percent of Gaza’s roughly 2 million residents are interested in emigrating.

Israeli officials have insisted that Gazans won’t be forced to leave, but critics of the initiative argue that it amounts to whitewashed ethnic cleansing.

Arab countries, meanwhile, have fervently refused US and Israeli requests to take in Palestinians, arguing that Gazans should be allowed to remain on their land and warning that allowing such an initiative under these conditions will simply export the conflict into their borders.

Jerusalem has yet to publicly commit that those who leave Gaza will be allowed to return. A small group of Gazans who reportedly left last month for work in Indonesia reportedly had to sign a declaration acknowledging that they might not be able to return due to the security situation.

“Gaza is in ruins — because of Hamas, not because of us,” the “senior Israeli official” asserted.

He added that Israel may “hold onto territory” in Gaza, even though it is not interested in permanently occupying the Strip.

While Israel will retain overall security control over Gaza, it wants to transfer control of the enclave to a “consortium of Arab countries” led by the Gulf states who would manage the Strip until further notice, he said.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and others have all expressed willingness to take part in the post-war management of Gaza but they have also all conditioned such assistance on Israel granting a foothold in the Strip to the Palestinian Authority to create a pathway to an eventual two-state solution.

Netanyahu has long rejected these conditions and his continued insistence that Arab countries will foot the bill regardless has infuriated them.

Official claims ‘cracks’ identified within Hamas

Addressing the state of fighting in Gaza, and the fate of the remaining hostages there, the “senior Israeli official” said Jerusalem is currently placing an emphasis on military pressure against Hamas, and defended doing so.

The majority of hostage families oppose the strategy, warning that it risks the lives of their loved ones.

The official claimed that Israel has identified “cracks” in Hamas due to the IDF’s renewed offensive in Gaza. According to the official, the “cracks” are between Hamas military commanders in the northern and southern Strip, and the terror group’s leaders in Gaza and Hamas leaders abroad.

However, he acknowledged that the terror group has not yet shifted its approach in the talks.

Hamas has insisted on sticking to the original terms of the January hostage-ceasefire deal, which was supposed to enter its second phase on March 2.

That phase envisioned the return of all living hostages in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent end to the war — two conditions Netanyahu has refused, arguing that they leave Hamas in power.

Netanyahu has instead sought to secure an extension of the first phase of the ceasefire, which would see the release of additional hostages while still allowing Israel to resume fighting.

The “senior Israeli official” briefing reporters said Israel will not and cannot agree to end the war in exchange for the hostages, as envisaged in the January deal, because Hamas is demanding significant guarantees, including through a UN Security Council resolution, that would bar Israel from resuming operations in Gaza in order to destroy Hamas. The official elaborated that Hamas and its supporters would insist upon a binding Security Council resolution ending the war, and Russia would be among those who would veto any subsequent effort to overturn such a resolution.

The official claimed that some Hamas operatives holding hostages may decide to leave the Strip due to Israel’s latest offensive, something that has not yet occurred.

The official also insisted that he understands that the hostages are suffering in captivity.

However, he said, most of the hostages’ deaths — either by their captors or by Israeli airstrikes — took place before February 2024, while eight were killed over the past year.

The official said at least 21 and as many as 24 hostages are still alive. There are 59 hostages in total.

‘We are not looking for conflict with Turkey’

Also, amid news of Israel carrying out major airstrikes against a key base in Syria that Turkey is reportedly looking to turn into its own military facility, the “senior Israeli official” told reporters, “We are not looking for conflict with Turkey. And we hope they’re not looking for a fight with us.”

“At the same time, we don’t want Turkey establishing itself on our borders,” said the official.

“Establishing military bases, naval and air bases under Turkish protection is something we want to prevent,” he continued.

“There are red lines.”

Netanyahu discussed tariffs with Trump, official says

In the same briefing, the official said that Netanyahu discussed tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump during a phone call on Thursday.

“We are discussing it,” said the official. “I believe we will enter a dialogue with them. They have a trade representative.”

“In the end, most of it is solvable.”

While Trump said Thursday that Netanyahu would likely visit the US next week, the “senior Israeli official” said that a date has not yet been set.

Axios cited another Israeli official who said the premier is considering a short visit during the week of April 13.

Israel expects more ICC warrants over Gaza war

The “senior Israeli official” briefing reporters also said that Jerusalem expects the International Criminal Court to issue more warrants against Israeli officials.

Netanyahu and Hungarian PM Viktor Orban called Trump from Hungary yesterday and discussed ways to take measures against the ICC and its chief prosecutor, the Israeli official said.

The ICC has outstanding warrants for Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Israel insists that all its war-fighting is conducted in accordance with international law, pointing to efforts to avoid civilian casualties, and noting Hamas’s systematic use of human shields.