US president Donald Trump has said a deal to end the Gaza war is within reach for ‘the first time ever’ as he hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House today.
Trump believes the agreement is close after talks with Arab leaders last week, insisting it would free hostages, secure a ceasefire and force Hamas to disarm.
On Sunday, he hinted at a historic breakthrough on his Truth Social platform, writing: ‘ALL ARE ON BOARD FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL, FIRST TIME EVER. WE WILL GET IT DONE!!!’
But Netanyahu has poured cold water on any optimism. Speaking at the UN on Friday, he pledged to ‘finish the job’ against Hamas and vowed to stop the creation of a Palestinian state, which has recently been recognised by several Western powers.
The Israeli leader also shows no sign of halting his army’s push through Gaza City, where the United Nations says around 700,000 people have been displaced since the start of September.
This will be Netanyahu’s fourth White House trip since Trump returned to power in January.
The American president has repeatedly promised he could solve the conflict in a matter of days, though he has so far failed to deliver.
Trump, usually one of Netanyahu’s closest allies, has begun to show irritation.
He last week warned the Israeli premier not to annex the West Bank, despite calls from some in his cabinet, and voiced anger over an Israeli strike on Hamas members in Qatar, a key US ally.
Natan Sachs, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said the outcome of the meeting depends on how hard Trump is willing to push.
Israeli strikes hit a tower block in Gaza yesterday. The building sheltered hundreds of Palestinians. Trump believes he is close to securing a peace deal
‘Netanyahu has a clear preference for continuing the war and defeating Hamas, but I don’t think it’s impossible for Trump to convince him otherwise,’ Sachs told AFP. ‘It would need a lot of pressure from Trump and a very clear and sustained strategy.’
The pair are due to appear together at a joint news conference at 1:15 pm Eastern time (16:15 BST) on Monday.
Trump’s upbeat tone last week followed meetings with Arab and Muslim-majority leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Reports suggest a 21-point American plan is already being circulated among diplomats. It would see Hamas disarmed, hostages freed and a ceasefire agreed.
One idea being floated is for former UK prime minister Tony Blair to oversee a temporary governing body for Gaza. The proposed ‘Gaza International Transitional Authority’ would operate with UN and Gulf backing before eventually transferring power to a reformed Palestinian Authority.
Netanyahu flatly rejected that during his UN speech, saying the PA should have no role in Gaza. The Palestinian Authority lost control of the strip when Hamas seized power in 2007.
Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, he cast doubt that the PA could ever be reformed.
‘I think that the credibility or the likelihood of… a reformed Palestinian Authority that changes completely its stripes, that accepts a Jewish state, that teaches its children to embrace the coexistence and friendship with the Jewish state, rather than living their lives in order to annihilate it… well, good luck,’ he said.
The current war began with Hamas’s bloody October 7 attack, which left 1,219 people dead in Israel, most of them civilians.
Trump and Netanyahu at the White House at the White House in April this year. Despite Trump’s optimism, the Israeli leader has casted doubt on a peace deal
It was the single deadliest day in the country’s history. Militants also kidnapped around 250 hostages, some of whom remain in captivity nearly two years on.
Israel’s response has been devastating. According to the health ministry in Gaza, which the UN treats as credible, more than 65,549 Palestinians have been killed, the majority of them civilians.
In recent weeks, Netanyahu and his officials have ramped up attacks in Gaza.
Earlier this month, Israel Katz said the country was ‘opening the gates of hell’ in Gaza as the IDF blew up a tower block. It claimed it was being used by Hamas terrorists.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu, in confirming plans of a full Gaza takeover, said in August: ‘We will deepen the blows to the terror infrastructure above and below ground, and disconnect the reliance of the population on Hamas.’
This month, a United Nations commission concluded that Israel’s conduct in Gaza amounts to genocide, citing evidence of mass killing, the use of siege tactics that cut off food and medical aid, and ‘conditions of life’ deliberately imposed to bring about destruction.
The UN and WHO have also confirmed famine conditions in Gaza, with more than half a million people facing severe hunger and many going days without food.
Israel strongly rejects the allegations – its government says these claims are ‘distorted and false,’ arguing its military campaign is aimed not at Palestinians broadly, but at ending Hamas and defending its citizens.
Last week, at Netanyahu’s address to the UN General Assembly, several diplomats and heads of state were seen walking out.