‘No choice to expand Gaza op.’ if talks continue to stall, source tells ‘Post’

“If there’s no advance in the talks – there will be no choice but to expand the military operation,” the source said.

Israel will consider expanding its military operation in Gaza if talks continue to stall, an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.

“If there’s no advance in the talks – there will be no choice but to expand the military operation,” the source said.

The military will present alternative operational plans for Gaza to the small cabinet meeting this evening.

This comes shortly after Opposition Leader MK Yair Lapid criticised the government’s current strategy in Gaza.

According to Lapid, “The Israeli government no longer knows how to justify why soldiers continue to die in Gaza.”

“If we do not end the war now, the hostages will not return, the IDF will continue to lose its best fighters, the humanitarian disaster will intensify, and the world will shut its doors to Israelis. This is not inevitable. There is another way,” the opposition leader said. He mentioned a plan that included a comprehensive hostage deal, in which “Israel should exit Gaza, with the IDF positioned around the perimeter and operating from there to dismantle Hamas. Gaza would be administered by a coalition of moderate Arab nations led by Egypt.”

Eliav Breuer contributed to this report.

This is a developing story.