JERUSALEM — Israel has the support of the United States to make “tough decisions” as it considers whether to completely occupy Gaza in an attempt to destroy Hamas, with Washington’s envoy to Jerusalem saying President Donald Trump is fed up with fruitless efforts to clinch a ceasefire.

Ambassador Mike Huckabee also sees the U.S. taking a guiding role in post-war arrangements for the Palestinian territory and, in the interim, has moved to quadruple the scope of relief provided by the U.S.- and Israeli-backed organization that’s been operating there since May. The group has been dogged by United Nations reports of Palestinians being killed around its sites and shunned by traditional aid agencies, which have warned of worsening starvation in the Gaza Strip.

“The president has made it very clear, the statements he’s made recently in public are statements that show that his patience has run out with any legitimacy of a Hamas agreement,” Huckabee said in an interview with Bloomberg News on Wednesday. “He has concluded that they’re not serious, they’re only into delay.”

Asked whether that meant Trump supports a takeover of Gaza, the ambassador said the president “respects Israel’s right to do what it has to do to protect itself, to get the hostages back, to end this.”

“He understands that there are tough decisions to be made.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due on Thursday to convene top cabinet members to decide on what he’s described as a plan to secure victory in the 22-month war after the latest round of truce talks collapsed last month. He’s considering whether to deploy the Israel Defense Forces into the 25% of Gaza troops have previously avoided for fear of harming hostages believed to be held there.

The tougher tack has been opposed by some military chiefs and runs counter to the majority opinion of Israelis, according to a recent poll, who would prefer a deal to end the war and free the 50 remaining hostages — of whom 20 are still alive — even if that leaves Hamas intact.

The Netanyahu government wants the Iran-backed Islamist group, designated a terrorist group by the U.S. and many other governments, toppled and disarmed, a position backed by Trump.

“He’s always said they have no future in Gaza, and they’ll have nothing to do with ruling in future,” Huckabee said. “So that’s as crystal clear, I think, as he could make it.”

Hamas triggered the war in Gaza with the Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 abducted. Most of the hostages were recovered during two ceasefires, and relatives of those still alive in captivity fear their family members could be executed or become cross-fire casualties in the event of an escalation.

Huckabee voiced satisfaction with an Arab League communique issued last week condemning the Oct. 7 attack and calling for the hostages to be released. “I think everybody with a sense of right and wrong was encouraged by that, because it was such a powerful declaration from Arab states to say: ‘This is Hamas’ fault.’”

By contrast, several Western countries have been piling pressure on Israel to stop the war out of concern for a Palestinian death toll topping 60,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and by U.N. warnings of famine due to Israel’s block on aid to Gaza in March.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the U.S.- and Israeli-backed aid network, says it has given out enough food staples for more than 100 million meals. The four GHF stations reach a fraction of Gaza’s 2 million-plus population, however, with the nonprofit struggling to expand as originally envisaged.

After visiting the GHF with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday, Huckabee deemed it “very effective.” He dismissed U.N. reports that the IDF has killed over hundreds of people seeking assistance as “nonsense,” saying Hamas has been killing people and stealing aid. The GHF denies firing on civilians.

“There’s a big push now to move from four to 16, up to 16 sites as quickly as possible,” he said. “A quadrupling over two months, if possible. It’s all about funding.”

Huckabee suggested the expansion of GHF operations would be coordinated with Israel’s military advances: “I think there’s still some question about areas of the north that may depend on whether the IDF can clear those areas and make it safe.”

Netanyahu’s targets for the war have lacked a day-after vision for Gaza, which has been devastated by Israel’s military campaign. Huckabee defended that position, saying the priority should be to win the war.

“We have to get this day finished before we can have the day after,” Huckabee said. “Certainly there are a lot of considerations being made, a lot of options being considered, put together, but nothing has been finalized.”

He anticipated that the U.S. would “provide some leadership, but not ownership” of the transition process.

“It’s coordination more than it is control,” Huckabee said. “You help recruit the players, you help make sure that everybody follows a certain understanding of what the goal is, and to get to that goal and to do it in a way that the recognizes the rights of people to live freely, to have a real hand in their future.”

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(With assistance from Gina Turner.)

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