REPORT: Biden Officials Admit They Never Pressured Israel for Ceasefire, as Israeli Leaders Boast of Playing Washington
“God did the State of Israel a favor that Biden was the president during this period… We fought [in Gaza] for over a year and the administration never came to us and said, ‘ceasefire now.’ It never did. And that’s not to be taken for granted.”
—Former Israeli ambassador Michael Herzog:
A sweeping Israeli Channel 13 investigation has exposed the Biden administration’s complicity in Israel’s 19-month war on Gaza. Nine top Biden officials acknowledged avoiding real pressure on Israel—even as the death toll surpassed 30,000. Israeli leaders openly bragged they dragged out the war, playing for time until Donald Trump’s return.
Former National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Ambassador Tom Nides, and others defended their unwavering support for Israel—even as they admitted enabling a campaign one U.S. aide described as “killing and destroying for the sake of killing and destroying.”
Here’s what the investigation revealed: 🧵⬇️
1. “Killing and Destroying for the Sake of Killing and Destroying”
➤ Ilan Goldenberg, a senior national security aide, described the war’s aimlessness: “If they’re never going to do this, it doesn’t matter what the outcome is, Hamas is still going to control Gaza. You’re just killing and destroying for the sake of killing and destroying. But you’re not building an alternative.”
➤ U.S. officials pushed a post-war plan modeled on the anti-ISIS campaign, proposing that Arab states temporarily secure Gaza—but Netanyahu blocked it, refusing any role for the Palestinian Authority.
➤ Far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich openly pushed for reoccupying Gaza and rebuilding settlements. Netanyahu refused to advance alternatives, keeping the door open to their demands.
2. “We Fought for Over a Year and the Administration Never Said ‘Ceasefire Now’”
➤ Israeli officials were blunt about the benefits of Biden’s passivity. Former ambassador Michael Herzog declared:
“God did the State of Israel a favor that Biden was the president during this period, because it could have been much worse. We fought [in Gaza] for over a year and the administration never came to us and said, ‘ceasefire now.’ It never did. And that’s not to be taken for granted.”
➤ Biden aides privately admitted Netanyahu was dragging out the war. “He’s undercutting it every step of the way,” said Goldenberg. “All the security people are coming out and saying it.”
➤ He also revealed there were internal discussions in Washington about Biden giving a speech to pressure Israel politically, possibly triggering new elections there—but Biden backed off.
3. U.S. Covered for Israeli War Crimes and Blocked Aid Report
➤ State Department adviser Stacy Gilbert resigned after being cut out of the process of drafting a legally required arms compliance report.
➤ The final version cleared Israel of violating U.S. law—despite overwhelming evidence of aid obstruction. Gilbert called it “shocking in its mendacity,” adding: “Everyone knows that is not true.”
➤ Even as settlers looted Gaza-bound trucks and Israel blocked humanitarian aid, Biden certified compliance—and kept weapons flowing.
4. Netanyahu Sabotaged Captives Release Talks to Prolong the War
➤ Biden officials revealed that Netanyahu deliberately tanked negotiations, fearing a deal would force him to end the war.
➤ American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin was scheduled for release the day he was executed. Amos Hochstein confirmed: “There’s no doubt… those hostages would be alive.”
➤ Netanyahu’s public campaign to retain control over Gaza’s Philadelphi Corridor was viewed by Biden officials as a smokescreen to kill the deal.
5. Biden Backed Israel Even After Netanyahu Publicly Undermined & Insulted Him
➤ Biden once told Netanyahu he was “full of shit,” and hung up the phone mid-call. But as Ambassador Tom Nides put it: “Biden saw [Netanyahu] as a manipulator, a magician… But he stood by him through the end.”
➤ In May 2024, Biden announced he was pausing a shipment of 2,000-lb bombs over concerns about their use in Gaza. Days later, Netanyahu accused the U.S. of freezing broader arms deliveries—reportedly pausing Biden’s plans to restore the paused shipment.
6. Saudi Deal Collapsed Because Israel Refused to Make Any Concessions
➤ Biden officials described how a U.S.-Saudi normalization deal—coupled with defense and economic pacts—was nearly complete. But it required Israel to accept a “political horizon” for Palestinians.
➤ Dan Shapiro, former deputy assistant secretary of defense, explained: “We always understood that the Israeli government depended on far-right ministers who would try to block that commitment… that might require an election or a coalition shuffle.”
➤ Former U.S. ambassador Jack Lew called Israel’s refusal to engage “kind of shocking.”
➤ Amos Hochstein said: “I don’t understand the decision not to grab that opportunity as the most important strategic move Israel can make.”
➤ Herzog claimed Netanyahu deliberately stalled, hoping Trump would return to office and take credit: “It was my understanding that Trump preferred for the deal to wait until he got into office so that he’d be the one to do it.”
Clarification: Negotiators were discussing adding American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin to the release list on the same day he was executed. He was not yet formally “scheduled” for release. Amos Hochstein said: “There’s no doubt… those hostages would be alive.”
The full investigation in Hebrew is available here:
🚨 Jared Kushner presented a “master plan” for redeveloping Gaza into a high-tech metropolis during a speech at the Board of Peace charter signing ceremony in Davos, Switzerland, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.
Watch his full remarks here. We break down some key points in the thread below: 🧵
1/ Senior White House adviser and Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner said the administration has moved from securing a ceasefire to what he described as the far harder task of implementing peace, framing the effort as a shift in mindset after years of war in Israel and decades of despair in Gaza.
He credited President Donald Trump’s “first principles” approach for pushing the team to aim for outcomes others considered impossible, arguing that peace required changing behavior, habits, and expectations on both sides.
2/ Kushner said the next phase centers on security and demilitarization, arguing that no reconstruction or investment is possible without it. He said the United States is working with Israel and a new technocratic Palestinian governing committee to “work with Hamas on demilitarization,” describing security as the foundation for rebuilding Gaza’s economy and ending what he called long-term dependence on aid.
🇻🇪 How popular was Trump’s move to intervene militarily to depose Maduro among Venezuelans?
Two pre-intervention surveys suggested a sharp split between Venezuelans inside the country and those abroad, with deep opposition at home and high support in the diaspora.
1. Datanálisis poll, Dec 2025
(Caracas-based firm)
▪️ Foreign military intervention (inside Venezuela)
➤ 55% opposed
➤ 23% supported
➤ 22% unsure / other
▪️Political alignment of those polled
➤ 60% politically unaffiliated
➤ 13% support the government
➤ 19% support the opposition
Page 1/5.
Thread continues below ⬇️
2. AtlasIntel Intel Poll, October 22-28, 2025, published by Bloomberg
(Brazil-based polling firm)
▪️ Support for U.S. military intervention
➤ 64% support among Venezuelans abroad
➤ 34% support among Venezuelans living in the country
3. AtlasIntel Intel Poll, October 22-28, 2025
▪️ Is US intervention the “most viable pathway for topping the Maduro regime and re-establishing democracy?”
➤ 55% of migrants say yes
➤ Only 25% of those in Venezuela say yes
🚨 BREAKING: New footage shows explosions around Caracas, Venezuela, as parts of the city’s south near a major military base lost electricity. Low-flying aircraft were seen and heard from across the capital, according to Reuters.
Agence France-Presse and Associated Press said the blasts were heard around 2 a.m. local time, with an AP reporter counting at least seven explosions over several neighborhoods. Residents rushed into the streets, some watching the sky as aircraft flew at low altitude. The site of the explosions remains unclear, and Venezuelan authorities have not issued an official explanation or confirmed any casualties.
🧵 THREAD: What Day 81 of the Gaza ceasefire shows, according to field data shared with Drop Site by sources inside Hamas
⭕️ A daily field monitoring report submitted to mediators by Hamas recorded 22 Israeli military violations of the Gaza ceasefire on Dec. 31, 2025 (Day 81), with two people killed — including a 5-year-old child — and multiple injuries reported across Gaza.
⭕️ The report cites 1152 injuries since the ceasefire began, with “all of the wounded were targeted inside the yellow line, without exception.”
⭕️ The thread below details casualties, military activity, aid entry, and overall compliance with agreed terms after 81 days 🧵👇🏼
1️⃣ Killings under the ceasefire
➤ 422 people killed since the agreement began
➤ 53.5% are children, women, or elderly
➤ 91.7% are civilians
➤ 96.4% were killed inside the “yellow line”, an area meant to be protected
➤ 2 people killed on Dec. 31 alone
2️⃣ Injuries
➤ 1,152 people wounded over 80 days
➤ 58.1% are children, women, or elderly
➤ 99.1% are civilians
➤ 100% injured inside the yellow line
Every recorded injury occurred west of the yellow line, in areas that should have been shielded by the ceasefire.
NEW: Internal Hamas document shows Israel has violated Gaza ceasefire every day for 80 days
Despite President Trump’s claim yesterday that Israel was “100%” compliant with the ceasefire he brokered, a detailed internal report shared with Drop Site by sources within Hamas documents daily, systematic Israeli violations of the Gaza ceasefire.
1) What this document is
▪️ A day-80 violations report compiled through daily monitoring across Gaza
▪️ Tracks killings, injuries, military activity, aid access, and withdrawal compliance
▪️ Hamas says it has consistently transmitted this data to mediators overseeing the ceasefire
2) Killings since the ceasefire began
▪️ 420 Palestinians killed over 80 days
▪️ 53.3% were children, women, or elderly
▪️ 91.6% of those killed were civilians
▪️ 96.4% killed inside the designated “yellow line”
3) Wounded civilians
▪️ 1,145 Palestinians wounded
▪️ 99.1% civilians
▪️ All injuries occurred inside the yellow line, according to the report
▪️ Children, women, and elderly make up 58.3% of the wounded
🟢 Hamas is publicly challenging Israel and its U.S. backers to allow an open, impartial international investigation into October 7—rejecting Israeli claims about civilian targeting, killing of children, and raping of women.
In a new political document, Hamas says that “during the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on October 7, the resistance did not target any hospital, school, or house of worship; it did not kill a single journalist or any member of ambulance crews,” and adds: “We challenge the entity to prove otherwise.”
The movement calls for “an impartial international investigation into the claims of Israeli civilian deaths on October 7,” alongside a parallel probe into Israeli crimes committed during Israel’s war on Gaza.
The demand appears in a 42-page narrative released by Hamas today, laying out its account of October 7, Israel’s subsequent war on Gaza, and its view of the current political moment and what comes next.
Here’s the full section:
Celebrated Israeli-British historian and University of Oxford professor Avi Shlaim notes that Hamas has long said it would accept an International Criminal Court or other independent investigation and punish violations, while Israel continues to bar international journalists from Gaza and rejects any independent probe into the events of Oct. 7 or its conduct over more than two years of military operations in Gaza.