Pete Hegseth Speaks Out About President Trump’s Plan To Take Over Gaza

Sitting across from the Israeli Prime Minister at the Pentagon, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was asked point blank about President Trump’s newly revealed concept plan for the Gaza strip.

Reporters primarily wanted to know one thing — are there plans being developed to put American boots on the ground to support a potential American role in rebuilding Gaza?

On one hand, President Trump had already clarified that if necessary to support whatever decision is ultimately agreed upon, the answer would be a yes — “As far as Gaza is concerned, we’ll do what is necessary.”

Hegseth answered with a little more political nuance, obviously wishing to leave his boss maximum room to negotiate.

Here’s the moment Hegseth was asked the million dollar question:

.@SECDEF answering questions regarding Gaza. pic.twitter.com/Dax6Tl6YUw

— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) February 5, 2025

While both Hegseth and President Trump left that option on the table, the White House Press Secretary was careful to point out that didn’t amount to a commitment to put troops on the ground, according to a report by Newsweek:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was asked by reporters on Wednesday if U.S. troops will be heading to Gaza, following President Trump’s remarks that the United States will “take over” the Gaza strip.

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In a White House news briefing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, Trump said that the United States would “take over the Gaza Strip” and added, “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and all of the other weapons on the site.”

During the briefing, Trump was asked about potentially sending U.S. troops into Gaza and he did not rule out the possibility.

“As far as Gaza is concerned, we’ll do what is necessary, if it’s necessary we’ll do that,” Trump said. “We’re going to take over that piece and develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs, and it’ll be something that the entire Middle East can be proud of.”

However, in a White House briefing on Wednesday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the president “has not committed to that just yet.”

Hegseth, with a nod towards Benjamin Netanyahu sitting across the table, iterated to reporters his unwillingness to “get ahead of the President” on the details of a future plan.

He also pointed out that it would simply be bad military planning to give away details of a potential future military operation, according to the already cited report in Newsweek:

Tensions in the Middle East remain high as a ceasefire agreement between the Israeli government and Hamas hangs in the balance, as hostage negotiations continue. The region has seen tremendous loss as thousands of people have been killed in the response to Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023.

While speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Hegseth was asked about potential plans with Trump on possibly sending U.S. soldiers into Gaza. Hegseth replied, “The president is involved in very complex and high-level negotiations of great consequence to both the United States and the State of Israel and we look forward to working with our allies, our counterparts, both diplomatically and militarily to look at all options.

“But we certainly would not get ahead of the president or provide any details about what we may or may not do. That’s just bad military planning.”

Trump also said to reporters on Tuesday that he envisions Gaza potentially turning into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” saying “the world’s people” would live there.

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As the following post points out, simply leaving the possibility open for troops on the ground doesn’t constitute troops on the ground.

It could very well be simple negotiation posturing, or “power politics”, as negotiations for the next steps for Gaza are underway.

SECDEF Hegseth speaks on Trump’s plan for Gaza.

He highlights how the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result.

He did not say US troops would be in Gaza, and drops a hint about Trump being in “high-level negotiations”.

Based… pic.twitter.com/pfjMIjsIlc

— Clandestine (@WarClandestine) February 5, 2025

Here’s the full text of that post, shedding light on what might be up President Trump’s sleeve as he attempts to pull back the Middle East from a wider conflict surrounding the Palestinians:

SECDEF Hegseth speaks on Trump’s plan for Gaza.

He highlights how the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result.

He did not say US troops would be in Gaza, and drops a hint about Trump being in “high-level negotiations”.

Based on the comments from Trump, Leavitt, and Hegseth, it’s looking like this is a negotiation tactic, and Trump has no serious intent to invade Gaza with US troops, just like he has no serious intent to invade Greenland or Panama with US troops.

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Trump has used power politics in the past, and it ends up in peace. Just like he told Kim Jong Un he would unleash “fire and fury like the world has never seen”, only for Trump and KJU to become friends and make a historic peace deal.

In conclusion, just let Trump work his magic. This is how he gets deals done. Let’s let the situation play out.

While President Trump is know for ending wars, not starting new ones, he is also not one to turn his back on our allies — as one former President has turned into his personal cliché.

When President Trump and Hegseth say all options are being considered — I believe them.

But I also doubt that President Trump is about to stumble America into some unending occupation of foreign territory with nothing more than good intentions.

He doesn’t roll the dice like that.

My expectation is that the real estate developer in him recognizes a win-win for the United States, in which we benefit from the rebuilding of Gaza both in hard currency and a stabilized Middle East.

But I would expect him to develop this plan with security assurances, not only from the Israelis, but likely many of their immediate neighbors as well.

The Jordanians are playing hard ball right now, insisting that they are willing to go to war with Israel if the Palestinians are pushed to Jordanian territory.

BREAKING REPORT: ⚠️ Jordan purportedly PREPARED TO DECALRE WAR on the Israeli State should Netanyahu attempts to expel Palestinians into their territory…

DEVLOPING…

— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) February 5, 2025

While that sounds like hard talk… I would point out that King Abdullah is specifying the forced expelling of Palestinians from the WEST BANK — not the Gaza strip.

This could very well be a simple ploy to sound tough at home, while staying out of Israel’s way as it deals with Gaza.

There have also been reports that President Trump has been in talks with the Egyptians regarding the movement of refugees from the Gaza strip while the area is rebuilt.

It remains to be seen exactly what the details of the plan will involve in terms of a temporary or permanent answer to the refugees that have long been used for political purposes by Israel’s neighbors, but who want no practical role in forming a solution that doesn’t involve the destruction of Israel.