Palestinian armed group in Gaza admits to coordination with Israel
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Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Trump hosts Netanyahu in push for Gaza deal
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump hosted Benjamin Netanyahu for dinner at the White House on Monday as he pressed the Israeli prime minister to end the devastating Gaza war. Netanyahu's third visit since Trump's return to power comes at a crucial time, with the US president hoping to capitalize on the momentum from a recent truce between Israel and Iran. 'I don't think there is a hold up. I think things are going along very well,' Trump told reporters at the start of the dinner when asked what was preventing a peace deal. Sitting on the opposite side of a long table from the Israeli leader, Trump also voiced confidence that Hamas was willing to end the conflict in Gaza, which is entering its 22nd month. 'They want to meet and they want to have that ceasefire,' Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if clashes involving Israeli soldiers would derail talks. The meeting in Washington came as Israel and Hamas held a second day of indirect talks in Qatar on an elusive ceasefire. Netanyahu meanwhile said he had nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize — the US president's long-held goal — presenting him with a letter he sent to the prize committee. 'He's forging peace as we speak, in one country, in one region after the other,' Netanyahu said. But Netanyahu was more cagey on peace with the Palestinians and ruled out a full Palestinian state, saying that Israel will 'always' keep security control over the Gaza Strip. 'Now, people will say it's not a complete state, it's not a state. We don't care,' Netanyahu said. Several dozen protesters gathered near the White House as Trump and Netanyahu met, chanting slogans accusing the Israeli prime minister of 'genocide.' Trump has strongly backed key US ally and fellow conservative Netanyahu, lending US support in Israel's recent war by bombing Iran's key nuclear facilities. But at the same time he has increasingly pushed for an end to what he called the 'hell' in Gaza. Trump said on Sunday he believes there is a 'good chance' of an agreement this coming week. 'The utmost priority for the president right now in the Middle East is to end the war in Gaza and to return all of the hostages,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. Leavitt said Trump wanted Hamas to agree to a US-brokered proposal 'right now' after Israel backed the plan for a ceasefire and the release of hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The latest round of negotiations on the war in Gaza began on Sunday in Doha, with representatives seated in different rooms in the same building. Monday's talks ended with 'no breakthrough,' a Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations told AFP. The Hamas and Israeli delegations were due to resume talks later. Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff was due to join the talks in Doha later this week in an effort to get a ceasefire over the line. The US proposal included a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and several bodies in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel, two Palestinian sources close to the discussions had earlier told AFP. The group was also demanding certain conditions for Israel's withdrawal, guarantees against a resumption of fighting during negotiations, and the return of the UN-led aid distribution system, they said. In Gaza, the civil defense agency said Israeli forces killed at least 12 people on Monday, including six in a clinic housing people displaced by the war. Of the 251 hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the October 2023 Hamas attack that triggered the war, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. The war has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people in the Gaza Strip. Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,523 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The UN considers the figures reliable.
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Trump says Hamas ‘want to have that ceasefire' in Gaza
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump voiced his confidence Monday that Hamas was willing to agree a truce with Israel, as he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to push for an end to the Gaza war. 'They want to meet and they want to have that ceasefire,' Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if clashes involving Israeli soldiers would derail talks.
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Trump welcomes Netanyahu to White House for a third time as Gaza ceasefire talks intensify
US President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for White House talks on Monday, while Israeli officials held indirect negotiations with Hamas aimed at securing a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal. Netanyahu's visit follows Trump's prediction, on the eve of their meeting, that such an agreement could be reached this week. Before heading to Washington, the right-wing Israeli leader said his discussions with Trump could help advance negotiations under way in Qatar between Israel and the Palestinian militant group. It was Trump's third face-to-face encounter with Netanyahu since returning to office in January, and came just over two weeks after the president ordered the bombing of Iranian nuclear sites in support of Israeli air strikes. Trump then helped arrange a ceasefire in the 12-day Israel-Iran war. Trump and his aides appeared to be trying to seize on any momentum created by the weakening of Iran, which backs Hamas, to push both sides for a breakthrough in the 21-month Gaza war. He said he also wants to discuss with Netanyahu the prospects for a 'permanent deal' with Iran, Israel's regional arch-foe. The two leaders were scheduled to have a private dinner instead of formal talks in the Oval Office, where the president usually greets visiting dignitaries. It was not immediately clear why Trump was taking a lower-key approach with Netanyahu this time. After arriving overnight in Washington, Netanyahu met earlier on Monday with Trump's Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in preparation for his talks with the president. He planned to visit the US Capitol on Tuesday to see congressional leaders. Ahead of the visit, Netanyahu told reporters he would thank Trump for the US air strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, and said Israeli negotiators were driving for a deal on Gaza in Doha, Qatar's capital. Israeli officials also hope the outcome of the conflict with Iran will pave the way for normalization of relations with more of its neighbors such as Lebanon, Syria and Saudi Arabia, another issue expected to be on the agenda with Trump. Riyadh has repeatedly reaffirmed its stance against any normalization until there is a viable pathway to Palestinian statehood with East Jerusalem as its capital. Second day of Qatar talks Witkoff, who played a major role in crafting the 60-day ceasefire proposal at the center of the Qatar negotiations, will travel to Doha this week to join discussions there, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday. In a sign of continued gaps between the two sides, Palestinian sources said Israel's refusal to allow the free and safe entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza remains the main obstacle to progress in the indirect talks. Israel insists it is taking steps to get food into Gaza but seeks to prevent militants from diverting supplies. On the second day of negotiations, mediators hosted one round, and talks were expected to resume in the evening, the Palestinian sources told Reuters. The US-backed proposal envisages a phased release of hostages, Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza and discussions on ending the war entirely. Hamas has long demanded a final end to the war before it would free remaining hostages; Israel has insisted it would not agree to halt fighting until all hostages are released and Hamas dismantled. Trump told reporters last week that he would be 'very firm' with Netanyahu on the need for a speedy Gaza deal and that the Israeli leader also wanted to end the war. Some of Netanyahu's hardline coalition partners oppose halting military operations but, with Israelis having become increasingly weary of the Gaza war, his government is expected to back a ceasefire if he can secure acceptable terms. A ceasefire at the start of this year collapsed in March, and talks to revive it have so far been fruitless. Meanwhile, Israel has intensified its military campaign in Gaza and sharply restricted food distribution. Gazans were watching closely for any sign of a breakthrough. 'I ask God almighty that the negotiating delegation or the mediators pressure with all their strength to solve this issue, because it has totally became unbearable,' said Abu Suleiman Qadoum, a displaced resident of Gaza city. The Gaza war erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive. Israel's retaliatory war in Gaza has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health ministry. Most of Gaza's population has been displaced by the war and nearly half a million people are facing famine within months, according to United Nations estimates. Trump has been strongly supportive of Netanyahu, even wading into domestic Israeli politics last month by lashing out at prosecutors over a corruption trial against the Israeli leader on bribery, fraud and breach-of-trust charges that Netanyahu denies.
