An Israeli channel on Sunday attributed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on occupying Gaza City to pressure exerted by US President Donald Trump on Tel Aviv to defeat Hamas.

Channel 12 (private) reported that the Israeli Security and Political Cabinet (the ‘kitchen’) is scheduled to convene today, Sunday, at 18:00 (15:00 GMT).

It added that “security establishment leaders intend to demand including the topic of negotiations for the return of the hostages (prisoners in Gaza) in the discussion, despite Netanyahu’s refusal.”

The channel quoted unnamed Israeli sources saying “behind Netanyahu’s insistence on occupying Gaza City stands significant pressure from President Trump.”

The sources continued that “Trump pressured Netanyahu to work on defeating Hamas.”

According to one channel source, “Trump’s position is one of the main reasons pushing Netanyahu towards occupying Gaza City or concluding a comprehensive deal on Israeli terms.”

The source claimed that “Hamas has hardened its position in negotiations due to the Israeli starvation campaign in Gaza, which pushed the Israeli delegation to return from Doha.”

He added: “At this moment, Trump has lost patience, especially after he showed optimism (about reaching an agreement) based on Qatari assessments.”

The source further stated that “Trump finds it difficult to understand why Israel cannot defeat Hamas quickly.”

The channel added that US envoy Steve Witkoff said the military operation to occupy Gaza City will end by the end of next December.

However, it noted: “Israeli security leaders estimate that Trump’s support for the fighting may change if he sees difficult scenes on screens in Gaza.”

It continued: “If that happens, according to their assessment, Trump may stop the fighting before Israel completes the operation and occupation (of Gaza City).”

It added: “Another important point is that the army sees the likelihood of Hamas surrender, even after the army enters Gaza, as very low.”

It also stated: “The security establishment also believes the likelihood of Hamas agreeing to the terms of a comprehensive deal according to the cabinet’s vision is very low.”

On August 10, Netanyahu announced five conditions for reaching a comprehensive deal including: disarming Hamas, stripping Gaza of weapons, and returning the prisoners.

It also includes imposing Israeli security control over Gaza Strip and establishing a civilian administration in the sector that excludes Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.

Therefore, “there is fear in the security establishment that Israel may have to continue occupation tasks for a long time without recovering the hostages,” according to the channel.