When federal agents raided the home and office of former National Security Adviser John Bolton on Friday as part of a classified documents investigation, some Democrats and liberal commentators framed the development as another example of what they claim is President Donald Trump’s political weaponization of the justice system.

The reaction marked a striking contrast with Democrats’ long history of opposing Bolton. For years, they denounced him as a hardline foreign policy hawk who manipulated intelligence and pushed the U.S. into war. But when Bolton broke with Trump, Democrats began citing him as a key witness and relying on his public comments to bolster their case against the former president.

Battles over Bolton’s Bush-era role

Democrats first sought to block Bolton’s 2005 nomination to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush. Then-Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., accused him of being untruthful in a Senate questionnaire, noting that he had been interviewed as part of a joint State Department and CIA investigation into Iraq’s pursuit of nuclear materials from Niger.

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., alleged that Bolton played a role in the disputed claim that Iraq had attempted to purchase yellowcake uranium — an accusation that appeared in Bush’s 2003 State of the Union address but could not be confirmed by U.S. intelligence agencies.

That same year, Carl W. Ford Jr., then head of intelligence at the State Department, described Bolton as a ‘serial abuser’ of power who pressured analysts to alter assessments. One analyst, Christian Westermann, reportedly resisted including claims of Cuban biological weapons in a 2002 speech Bolton wanted to deliver.

Senate Democrats delayed Bolton’s nomination for months, citing concerns that he sought to shape intelligence findings to fit administration policy goals.

Renewed opposition during the Trump administration

When Trump appointed Bolton as national security adviser in 2018, Democrats again criticized him, citing his past support for the Iraq War and his calls for a hardline approach towards Iran and North Korea.

‘Bolton is a dangerous radical,’ said Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., accused him of politicizing intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq conflict. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., argued Bolton had been consistently ‘wrong on security’ throughout his career.

Trump himself later grew frustrated with Bolton’s hawkish approach, including his opposition to peace talks with the Taliban and advocacy for military action in Iran. The two split in 2019, with Trump announcing Bolton’s departure on social media and Bolton insisting he had already offered to resign.

A sought-after witness during impeachment

Following Bolton’s break with Trump, Democrats began highlighting him during Trump’s first impeachment trial over Ukraine.

‘There’s no denying the central relevance of John Bolton’s testimony,’ then-Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said as House impeachment managers pressed for him to appear.

Bolton’s memoir later claimed Trump sought to withhold military aid from Ukraine, a move Bolton privately described as a ‘drug deal.’ At the time, MSNBC commentators suggested his testimony could have been decisive in the outcome of the trial.

Ultimately, Bolton declined to testify, angering some Democrats who accused him of reserving details for his book rather than presenting them under oath.

Role in today’s political debates

Since leaving the Trump administration, Bolton has become a regular guest on networks such as CNN and MSNBC, where he continues to weigh in on foreign policy and national security.

Although many Democrats once opposed his nomination and criticized his record, they have at times pointed to his comments when they align with their critiques of Trump and other Republicans.

The latest raid underscores how Bolton remains a polarizing figure — one Democrats long opposed but have also leaned on in moments when his testimony or commentary could be used against Trump.

France has summoned American ambassador Charles Kushner to Paris, after the diplomat accused the country of not doing enough to combat antisemitism in a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron.

France’s foreign ministry said in a statement issued Sunday that Kushner’s allegations ‘are unacceptable,’ and announced it had summoned the U.S. diplomat to appear Monday at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

Kushner, who is Jewish, wrote in the letter that antisemitic incidents in France have been fueled by French government statements about recognizing a Palestinian state.

‘Public statements haranguing Israel and gestures toward recognition of a Palestinian state embolden extremists, fuel violence, and endanger Jewish life in France. In today’s world, anti-Zionism is antisemitism – plain and simple,’ Kushner wrote.

Kushner further urged Macron ‘to act decisively: enforce hate-crime laws without exception, ensure the safety of Jewish schools, synagogues and businesses … and abandon steps that give legitimacy to Hamas and its allies.’

The French foreign ministry said in its statement that ‘France firmly rejects these allegations’ from Kushner, adding that French authorities have ‘fully mobilized’ to combat a rise in antisemitic acts since Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The ministry further deemed antisemitic acts ‘intolerable.’

The ministry said Kushner’s allegations violate international law and the obligation not to interfere with the internal affairs of another country, adding that they ‘also fall short of the quality of the transatlantic partnership between France and the United States and of the trust that must prevail between allies.’

The U.S. State Department, however, said it backed Kushner and his comments, department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said Sunday evening.

‘Ambassador Kushner is our U.S. government representative in France and is doing a great job advancing our national interests in that role,’ Pigott said.

Macron has been critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the war in Gaza continues, while President Donald Trump has been a staunch supporter of the Israeli leader.

Kushner, a real estate developer, is the father of Jared Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump.

At the end of his first presidential term, Trump pardoned Charles Kushner, who pleaded guilty years earlier to tax evasion and making illegal campaign donations.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Jeffrey Epstein did not have the same level of impact in the Senate as the House, but the discourse pushed by many congressional Democrats, and some Republicans, is unlikely to go away when lawmakers return next week.

And the level of Epstein hysteria in Congress may have had an unlikely impact in derailing Republicans’ push in the upper chamber to ram through President Donald Trump’s nominees.

Senate Republicans tried and failed to strike a deal with Senate Democrats to push through dozens of non-controversial nominees, particularly picks that made it through committee with bipartisan support.

Only Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who glided through the Senate unanimously earlier this year, has not been met by Democrats’ blockade.

Rules changes are in the works, but the avenue of using recess appointments, which requires the Senate to adjourn and the House to come into session for the president to elevate his picks on a temporary basis, was all but shot down after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sent lawmakers home early to sidestep the simmering push to release documents related to Epstein’s case.

‘When the House had an opportunity to take votes on the Epstein files, Speaker Johnson skedaddled out of town, launching the Epstein recess,’ Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said last month. ‘This is not complicated.’  

‘After promising full transparency for years, every single time Trump, his administration, Republican leaders have had a chance to be transparent about the Epstein files, they’ve chosen to hide. The evasions, the delays, the excuses, they’re not just odd, they’re alarming.’

Many Republicans in the upper chamber agree that there should be more transparency, but caution that no materials should be released until the names or identifying traits of victims are combed through and kept safe.

Others question why Democrats suddenly care about the Epstein situation.

Sen. Roger Marshall, who supported turning to recess appointments to break Democrats’ log jam, told Fox News Digital that it didn’t ‘make sense to me, and this is part of their psychosis, that they are so separated from reality,’ to keep pushing the Epstein issue.

‘They had four years to do something with this, and it was just quite the opposite,’ the Kansas Republican said. ‘As I recall, just quite the opposite. It was almost like they were hiding something.’

‘My frustration is how they used it to circumvent the agenda of the American people… this is all they’ve got,’ he continued. ‘What else do they have? They don’t have a leader, they don’t have an agenda. They don’t have solutions. All they know is, if it’s President Trump, they’re not going to like it, very matter of fact, they’re going to hate it at the sacrifice of the entire country.’

Meanwhile, Epstein engulfed Washington once again on Friday, with the House Oversight Committee receiving a trove of related documents and the interview between Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche becoming public.

When asked about the files eventually coming to light, Trump told reporters that he was in support of keeping them ‘totally open,’ and charged that Democrats were using Epstein as a smokescreen to detract from his administration’s work.

‘The whole Epstein thing is a Democrat hoax,’ he said. ‘We had the greatest six months, seven months in the history of the presidency, and the Democrats don’t know what to do, so they keep bringing up that stuff.’

President Donald Trump on Sunday blasted the Senate’s ‘blue slip’ tradition, calling it an unconstitutional affront to his appointment power and alleging that his rights have ‘been completely taken away from me in States that have just one Democrat United States Senator.’

The president is referring to his ability to nominate judges and U.S. Attorneys, accusing the custom of essentially giving Democrats veto power over his nominees.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley is defending the century-old process, saying he views it as a norm worth preserving for balance and state input.

Blue slips are a long-standing tradition but are not a codified law, and constitutionally he is only allowed the power to nominate while the Senate ultimately approves or rejects that nomination.

Trump’s frustration with the Senate’s blue slip practice isn’t new. In July, Trump called the tradition a ‘hoax’ and a ‘scam’ used by Democrats to block his nominees and demanded that Grassley stop supporting them.

‘Put simply, the president of the United States will never be permitted to appoint the person of his choice because of an ancient, and probably unconstitutional, ‘CUSTOM,’’ his post said.

In his first term, Trump was able to appoint 234 federal judges, including three Supreme Court justices and 54 appellate court judges. However, this term he has only confirmed five in the first seven months.

Trump went on in his post to suggest he was willing to apply pressure and that Grassley shouldn’t acquiesce. 

‘The only candidates that I can get confirmed for these most important positions are, believe it or not, Democrats! Chuck Grassley should allow strong Republican candidates to ascend to these very vital and powerful roles, and tell the Democrats, as they often tell us, to go to HELL!’ he wrote.

Trump’s comments come after U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann recently ruled that Alina Habba had been unlawfully serving as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey beyond the 120-day limit allowed for temporary prosecutors and that the administration had been using an unusual maneuver to keep her in the role.

Trump’s pressure campaign could shape how many judicial vacancies he can realistically fill in the months ahead.

Russian officials said Ukrainian drones ignited an overnight fire at a nuclear plant in Russia’s Kursk region.

The strikes coincided with Ukraine’s 34th Independence Day, marking its 1991 break from the Soviet Union.

Russia said the strikes hit several power facilities. The plant fire was quickly extinguished. A transformer was damaged, but radiation levels remained normal, and no injuries were reported.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog said it was aware of media reports of a transformer fire ‘due to military activity,’ but had not independently confirmed them.

Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said ‘every nuclear facility must be protected at all times.’

A fire also broke out at the port of Ust-Luga in Russia’s Leningrad region, home to a major fuel export terminal.

The regional governor said about 10 Ukrainian drones were shot down in the area and that debris sparked the blaze.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses intercepted 95 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory Sunday.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 72 drones and decoys and a cruise missile overnight; 48 drones were shot down or jammed.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke in a video from Kyiv’s Independence Square.

‘We are building a Ukraine that will have enough strength and power to live in security and peace,’ he said, calling for a ‘just peace.’

‘What our future will be is up to us alone,’ he said, while acknowledging the U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska earlier this month, which many worried would sideline Ukrainian interests.

‘And the world knows this. And the world respects this. It respects Ukraine. It perceives Ukraine as an equal,’ he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

When President Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025, he faced the same formidable adversary that defined much of his first term: China. This time the stakes were even higher. The trade deficit with China had ballooned to roughly $300 billion, while IP protection, currency manipulation and predatory industrial and international development practices remained significant issues. And Beijing doubled down — weaponizing its control of rare earth minerals, tightening its grip on semiconductors and wielding economic coercion against U.S. allies from Australia to Lithuania. 

Against this backdrop, Trump 47 adopted a two-pronged approach. On offense, the administration has kept maximum pressure on Beijing, staying firm on negotiation positions and refusing to trade away leverage until real concessions emerge. On defense, it has wielded tariffs not only as bargaining chips but as engines of industrial revival — reshoring supply chains, rebuilding America’s manufacturing base and hardening strategic alliances to reduce dependence on China. 

These were not easy calls. Tariffs rattled markets. Pressure campaigns risked alienating partners. Yet the strategy has been to hold the line, play a long game and push forward until the U.S. secured fairer, reciprocal trade terms. In a world where semiconductors and rare earths are the new oil, this is about nothing less than U.S. national security. 

I have seen firsthand how high-stakes these negotiations can be. As I recount in my forthcoming book, ‘A Seat at the Table,’ Chinese officials have long relied on psychological tactics, slow-walking responses through layers of bureaucracy, handing us last-minute drafts in Chinese —  even removing chairs at negotiating tables. These are not trivial gestures. They are meant to unnerve, unsettle and push the U.S. team toward compromise. 

The Trump response was simple but powerful: don’t flinch. In Beijing, when presented with a Chinese draft that ignored our work, Secretary Steven Mnuchin waved it away and insisted the talks proceed on the American document. When a chair was removed to show disrespect, we calmly got it back—without ever conceding authority. 

That posture of confidence — staying the course under pressure — continues today in Trump 47. Tariffs are sharper, more targeted and higher than before; allied trade deals (Japan, South Korea, the EU) allow us to focus resources on China; and deadlines are extended when useful, but only on U.S. terms. 

Critics say tariffs raise consumer prices. In the short term, they can. But the broader truth is that tariffs are tools to rewire incentives, drive investment back home, and ensure the United States does not remain vulnerable in sectors critical to survival. Already, the tariffs of Trump 47 are accelerating investment in domestic chip foundries, battery plants and energy infrastructure. They are also forcing hard conversations with allies about aligning supply chains — from rare earth processing in Australia to semiconductor alliances with Japan and the Netherlands. 

When Beijing weaponized exports of gallium and graphite, vital for defense and electronics, Trump invoked the Defense Production Act and doubled down on Indo-Pacific partnerships. The message is clear: America will not be held hostage to coercion. Strategic autonomy requires resilience, even if it comes with short-term discomfort. 

How do you stay steady when the stakes are so high, when the pressure is relentless? Stand aside Hans Morgenthau. For me, the source I found was the timeless wisdom of ‘Kedushas Levi,’ an 18th-century Chassidic work by Rabbi Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev.  

The ‘Kedushas Levi’ teaches that challenges — no matter how overwhelming — are never insurmountable. ‘If you encounter an obstacle that is bigger than you, do not be fearful or frightened. With simple faith, what you fear will not harm you,’ it states. That teaching, echoing the Talmudic reality that the good Lord gives trials in proportion to a person’s strength, gave me composure when sprinting to translate a Chinese draft in a Beijing motorcade, or when facing off with officials determined to stall and delay. 

It also teaches that truth, even when inconvenient, carries divine weight. When Chinese officials resisted opening their financial markets, I pointed out the obvious but often ignored truth: Chinese banks in the U.S. had seen double- and triple-digit growth, while U.S. banks in China struggled for even single digits. That argument broke through where posturing could not.  

Negotiations with China will not be wrapped up overnight. But this is a contest of wills as much as economics. And here, the lessons of faith matter most. Facing giants, the Jewish tradition teaches, you do not shrink back. You lift your head high, stand on truth, and trust that what feels impossible can indeed be achieved. 

That is how we approached China in Trump 45. That is how we are approaching China in Trump 47. And that is how America, with faith and fortitude, can win. 

President Donald Trump has the golden touch — and nowhere is that more evident than in the Oval Office, where gilded accents now adorn the nation’s most famous workspace, reflecting his signature style.

The gold additions throughout the Oval Office were on full display last week as global leaders met with Trump to discuss a path to ending Russia’s war in Ukraine. 

A White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the gold Trump added to the Oval Office ‘is of the highest quality,’ declining to provide further details. The spokesperson also said that Trump personally covered the cost of the gold accents, though did not specify how much gold was added or how much Trump spent.

In March, Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham during a tour of the Oval Office that the room ‘needed a little life’ when asked about the gold details. 

‘Throughout the years, people have tried to come up with a gold paint that would look like gold, and they’ve never been able to do it,’ Trump told Ingraham. ‘You’ve never been able to match gold with gold paint, that’s why it’s gold,’ Trump added.

Since then, Trump has added gold accents throughout the Oval Office to include the room’s 18-foot-6-inch ceiling. Below is a picture of the presidential seal that overlooks the Resolute Desk, shown in 2008 and after the addition of all the gold.

Behind the Resolute Desk, Trump added gold curtains and a display of flags, including those representing the U.S. military’s sister services.

Meanwhile, gold trim was added to details along the ceiling and doorways. Even the cherubs inside the door frames were given a golden makeover.

In March, Trump said he had installed a copy of the Declaration of Independence in the Oval Office. He told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that the document must be kept behind heavy curtains to protect it from light damage. 

The signed Declaration of Independence is on permanent display at the National Archives on Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C., where it has been housed since 1952.

The framed document is seen on the wall behind Trump in the photograph below:

Presidents traditionally choose the portraits displayed in the Oval Office, with special attention given to the one above the fireplace.

Former President Joe Biden chose a portrait of Franklin Delano Roosevelt above the fireplace, accompanied by additional portraits of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson.

Above the fireplace, Trump chose to display a portrait of George Washington in military uniform, accompanied by several other prominent portraits.

Gold accents were applied to the white marble fireplace mantel, enhancing its neoclassical details.

Here’s a closer view of the details added to the fireplace:

Trump also placed gold trinkets on the fireplace mantel, though their arrangement has changed frequently.

In the Oval Office, Trump added gold coasters bearing his last name and the number 47, marking his position as the 47th president.

The gold details added to the Oval Office come as Trump undertakes broader renovations across the White House grounds.

Last month, the White House announced that Trump, together with private donors, will fund an estimated $200 million project to build a new ballroom. Intended to host official events, state dinners, and large ceremonial gatherings, the 90,000-square-foot addition will accommodate about 650 seated guests and maintain the White House’s classical design.

The announcement followed a similar move earlier this year, when Trump personally financed the installation of two 88-foot American flags flanking the White House, each reportedly costing around $50,000. 

Russia’s top nuclear official this week said Moscow is facing ‘colossal threats’ and needs to update its nuclear capabilities.

Without directly naming where Russia’s chief nuclear threat is coming from, Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev said, ‘the current geopolitical situation, is a time of colossal threats to the existence of our country.’

‘Therefore, the nuclear shield, which is also a sword, is a guarantee of our sovereignty,’ he added, according to Russian state news agency RIA. ‘We understand today that the nuclear shield must only be improved in the coming years.’

The comments came less than a week after Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump convened for a face-to-face meeting that marked the first time a U.S. leader has met with the Kremlin chief since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. 

While Trump and Putin appeared positive following the talks, little seemed to have been concretely accomplished in the meeting and hope surrounding a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire appeared to decline as the week progressed. 

It is unclear why Likhachev issued comments regarding Russia’s nuclear program at this time, and he did not detail what sort of updates he would be looking to make to Moscow’s ‘shield’ program. 

Trump issued similar comments earlier this year when in May he announced his plans to develop the ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense system — inspired by Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’ defense system — and which is expected to cost at least $175 billion.

Though security experts have been sounding the alarm when it comes to China’s escalating nuclear development, together Russia and the U.S. continue to possess 90% of the world’s nuclear arsenal.

Moscow continues to hold nearly 4,400 nuclear warheads, over 1,500 of which are ‘strategically deployed’ while the U.S. possesses more than 3,700 warheads in its stockpiles with 1,400 deployed, according to the Arms Control Association. 

While nuclear disarmament was the standing international goal following the end of the Cold War, the trajectory of this policy remains dubious as relations between Washington and Moscow have once again turned precarious amid Putin’s war in Ukraine, and his burgeoning relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping. 

The New Start Treaty remains the only bilateral nuclear arms control agreement between the U.S. and Russia, and though it was extended in 2021, it is set to expire in February 2026. The future of the treaty – first signed in 2010 – also remains unclear as Moscow paused its participation in the agreement in 2023.

Putin said that this suspension meant he would continue to abide by stockpile limits under the treaty, but he would not allow for continued U.S. inspections. 

Fox News Digital could not immediately reach the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for comment as nations increasingly look to expand their nuclear capabilities just six months ahead of when the New Start Treaty is set to expire. 

EXCLUSIVE – New Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Joe Gruters outlined his mission as he took over steering the GOP’s national party committee.

‘The midterms are ahead, where we must expand our major majority in the House, in the Senate, and continue electing Republicans nationwide,’ Gruters said as he addressed committee members moments after being unanimously elected chair at the RNC’s summer meeting, held this year in Atlanta, Georgia.

Gruters, a state senator and RNC committee member from Florida, who, until his election as chair on Friday, briefly served as the national party committee’s treasurer, is a longtime ally of President Donald Trump. His move to the RNC chairmanship cements Trump’s dominance over the GOP as it prepares for midterm battles next year.

And a month ago, Trump endorsed Gruters to succeed now-former RNC chair Michael Whatley, who stepped down as he runs for the Senate in battleground North Carolina in the blockbuster race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis.

The ascension of Gruters to RNC chair is the latest sign of Trump’s complete control over the national party committee.

‘This is the president’s party. This is the president’s vision, overall. The party fully embraces the president,’ Gruters said as he and Whatley stood for an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.

Whatley, who Trump picked to steer the RNC a year and a half ago, noted that ‘we have transformed the RNC, basically the way that President Trump has transformed the Republican Party.’

Gruters has been a major Trump supporter dating back to the president’s first campaign for the White House. Gruters served as Florida co-chair Trump’s 2016 campaign.

The Democratic National Committee, taking aim at Gruters following his election as chair, claimed that ‘Gruters and Trump will have a lot to bond over while they turn the Republican Party into even more of a personal propaganda machine for Trump.’

Republicans swept back to power last November, with Trump winning the White House, the GOP retaking control of the Senate and holding onto their fragile majority in the House.

But looking ahead to next year’s midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses House and Senate seats, the GOP will be defending their congressional majorities.

A key part of the RNC’s strategy going forward is Trump.

‘We’re gonna ride the president all the way to victory in the midterms, and we are going to win big,’ Gruters emphasized.

Asked about the top three items on his to-do list as he takes over as RNC chair, Gruters said, ‘number one, it’s still election integrity. That’s the most important thing, protecting the vote. And it’s about winning the midterms.’

‘It’s about going back to the fundamentals of registering voters and turning our voters out,’ the new chair added.

Gruters also highlighted Trump’s sweeping GOP-crafted domestic policy bill, which the Republican majorities in Congress passed this summer along near-party lines.

‘It’s our agenda,’ Whatley said in a Fox News Digital interview last month, as he pointed to the massive tax cuts and spending bill that Trump signed into law on July 4.

The measure is stuffed full of Trump’s 2024 campaign trail promises and second-term priorities on tax cuts, immigration, defense, energy and the debt limit. 

It includes extending the president’s signature 2017 tax cuts and eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay. 

By making his first-term tax rates permanent – they were set to expire later this year – the bill will cut taxes by nearly $4.4 trillion over the next decade, according to analysis by the Congressional Budget Office and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. 

The measure also provides billions for border security and codifies the president’s controversial immigration crackdown.

And the new law also restructures Medicaid – the almost 60-year-old federal program that provides health coverage to roughly 71 million low-income Americans. 

The changes to Medicaid, as well as cuts to food stamps, another one of the nation’s major safety net programs, were drafted in part as an offset to pay for extending Trump’s tax cuts. The measure includes a slew of new rules and regulations, including work requirements for many of those seeking Medicaid coverage.

Democrats, for months, have repeatedly blasted Republicans over the social safety net changes. And they’ve spotlighted a slew of national polls conducted both  before and after the measure was passed into law, that indicate the bill’s popularity in negative territory.

But Gruters sees the new law as campaign ammunition.

‘Every single Democrat in Congress voted for a tax increase on average everyday Americans,’ Gruters argued. ‘And that big, beautiful bill has something for every single American, whether you’re working class, whether you’re a small business owner, everybody benefits, and we’re going to be able to ride that bill all the way to victory.’

On Saturday, Israeli tanks and troops began maneuvering ever closer to Gaza City’s outskirts in preparation for a full-scale offensive. Eyewitness accounts reported intensified shelling as Israel is moving toward what could be the defining battle of its war against Hamas terrorists: the capture of Gaza City.

Israel’s security cabinet approved the operation, known as Gideon’s Chariots B, and has deployed up to five IDF divisions toward the city’s outskirts—a highly significant mobilization. Thousands of reservists—some 60,000—have been called up.

John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the Madison Policy Forum and executive director of the Urban Warfare Institute, told Fox News Digital the scale of this operation is unprecedented. ‘This will be a bigger challenge than anything the IDF has faced, arguably ever. It is the densest location in Gaza, the heart of Hamas’s stronghold. And you don’t really know what the tunnels are until you get into them.’

Spencer said that ‘Hamas built semi-circles of defenses oriented at Israel. But the IDF has shown creativity in maneuvering around obstacles.’ Israel plans to send more combat power into Gaza City than it has deployed across the entire Strip thus far. ‘If your goal is to clear Gaza City of Hamas’s military capabilities and search for hostages, you need that scale,’ he said.

Gadi Shamni, former commander of the Gaza Division and ex-head of IDF Central Command, told Fox News Digital, ‘It is a crowded city with refugee camps, dense neighborhoods, high-rises and a highly developed underground. People say the IDF controls above and below ground, but in the last campaign we saw that wasn’t always true. Even when you destroy tunnels, Hamas can rebuild them quickly. The longer you stay with more forces, the more opportunities you create for the other side to attack.’

A former senior Israeli security official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Fox News Digital, ‘The IDF can militarily conquer Gaza, but the costs will be immense on both sides. The IDF will fight with a method of ‘destroy everything first’—air force bombs, massive charges, detonating streets from afar, wiping out entire areas and advancing slowly.

‘The IDF has gained enormous experience over the past two years and will use those tactics in this battle. … You are strong, the enemy is weak, and you have patience. Even the weather is on Israel’s side, with winter not arriving until January.’

The tunnels remain the most formidable element of Hamas’s defense. Unlike ISIS terrorists in Mosul, Spencer said, Hamas has built an underground tunnel network that allows commanders and fighters to move between positions avoid strikes, and conceal hostages. ‘The IDF that will go into Gaza City is not the IDF of 2023,’ Spencer said, pointing to rapid adaptations in the use of drones, robots, and specialized units for tunnel warfare. ‘They’ve learned so much. But this will still be slow, very careful, and costly.’

To illustrate the scale, Spencer pointed to the 2004 battle for Fallujah in Iraq. ‘It took the Marine Corps about two weeks to clear Fallujah—every single home, building, shop. About 68,000 structures were cleared, as if somebody physically looked in them,’ he said. ‘If all five of these [IDF] divisions were doing that, absolutely, you could get it done in a few months. But the enemy always gets a vote. You can’t rush to failure.’

The former Israeli senior security official described the operation as ‘telescopic—very slow, with pistons working one by one. This pace also gives Hamas the chance at every stage to try to cut a deal.’

On the fate of hostages possibly held in Gaza City, the official was blunt: ‘Some of the hostages will die. I wouldn’t be surprised if more brigades are brought in—the IDF is using immense ground power to seize urban terrain.’

Shamni also warned Hamas may relocate hostages, 50 hostages, of whom 20 are still believed to be alive, into combat zones to deter strikes—a tactic he said the IDF would be reluctant to engage for fear of harming captives, a conflict between military necessity and core values.

Shamni highlighted a particularly fraught dilemma: evacuating civilians. ‘You don’t know who will leave, how many will leave, how they’ll react—or whether Hamas will even allow them to leave,’ he said. ‘I assume many will not evacuate, and then you face the hard dilemma of fighting in a place full of noncombatants.’

Spencer added that history shows around 10% of civilians stay behind. ‘Even 10% of a million is 100,000 people,’ he said.

Shamni forecast a protracted operation: ‘It could take months. Two months might seize the surface, but then you still have to clear tunnels. It will cost many lives—including civilians. The worst-case scenario is that no hostages are found alive or dead because of the destruction.’

Shamni, who also served as Israel’s military attaché in Washington, warned that the dual goals of defeating Hamas and returning hostages are contradictory, risking years of drawn-out fighting. 

Spencer, however, called the decision to press forward a ‘calculated risk,’ explaining that while military action carries dangers, ‘you weigh the risk of Hamas killing the hostages against the certainty that they’re being starved and tortured. Military pressure is the last resort. Without conquering Gaza City, Hamas will continue to hold a sanctuary.’