Netanyahu visits US as Trump puts pressure to agree Gaza ceasefire deal
Trump previously told reporters he had been "very firm" with Netanyahu about ending the conflict and that he thought "we'll have a deal" this week.
"We are working to achieve the deal that has been discussed, under the conditions we have agreed," the veteran Israeli PM said before boarding his plane. "I believe that the conversation with President Trump can definitely help advance this outcome, which we all hope for."
Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas on a US-sponsored proposal for a 60-day ceasefire and hostage release deal resumed in Qatar on Sunday evening.
However, it is unclear whether key differences that have consistently held up an agreement can be overcome.
Only cautious optimism is being expressed by weary Palestinians living in dire conditions amid continuing daily Israeli bombardment, and the distressed families of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas."I don't wish for a truce but a complete stop to all war. Frankly, I'm afraid that after 60 days the war would restart again," says Nabil Abu Dayah, who fled from Beit Lahia in northern Gaza to Gaza City with his children and grandchildren."We got so tired of displacement, we got tired of thirst and hunger, from living in tents. When it comes to life's necessities, we have zero."On Saturday evening, large rallies took place urging Israel's government to seal a deal to return some 50 hostages from Gaza, up to 20 of whom are believed to be alive.Some relatives questioned why the framework deal would not free all captives immediately."How does one survive under such conditions? I'm waiting for Evyatar to return and tell me himself," said Ilay David, whose younger brother, a musician, was filmed by Hamas in torment as he watched fellow hostages being released earlier this year during the last, two-month-long ceasefire."This is the time to save lives. This is the time to rescue the bodies from the threat of disappearance," Ilay told a crowd in Jerusalem."In the rapidly changing reality of the Middle East, this is the moment to sign a comprehensive agreement that will lead to the release of all the hostages, every single one, without exception."Netanyahu is visiting the White House for the third time since Trump returned to power nearly six months ago.But the leaders will be meeting for the first time since the US joined Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear sites and then brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.There is a strong sense that the recent 12-day war has created more favourable circumstances to end the Gaza war.After months of low popularity ratings, the Israeli PM has been bolstered by broad public support for the Iran offensive and analysts suggest he now has more leverage to agree to a peace deal over the strong objections of his far-right coalition partners, who want Israel to remain in control of Gaza.Hamas is seen to have been further weakened by the strikes on Iran — a key regional patron — meaning it could also be more amenable to making concessions needed to reach an agreement.Meanwhile, Trump is keen to move on to other priorities in the Middle East.These include brokering border talks between Israel and Syria, returning to efforts to normalise relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and completing unfinished business with Iran, involving possible negotiations on a new nuclear deal.For months, ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have been deadlocked over one fundamental difference.Israel has been ready to commit to a temporary truce to return hostages but not an end to the war. Hamas has demanded a permanent cessation of hostilities in Gaza and a full pullout of Israeli troops.The latest proposal put to Hamas is said to include guarantees of Washington's commitment to the deal and to continued talks to reach a lasting ceasefire and the release of all the hostages.Nothing has been officially announced, but according to media reports the framework would see Hamas hand over 28 hostages — 10 alive and 18 dead — in five stages over 60 days without the troubling handover ceremonies it staged in the last ceasefire.There would be a large surge in humanitarian aid entering Gaza.After the return of the first eight living hostages on the first day of the agreement, Israeli forces would withdraw from parts of the north. After one week, the army would leave parts of the south.On Day 10, Hamas would outline which hostages remain alive and their condition, while Israel would give details about more than 2,000 Gazans arrested during the war who remain in "administrative detention" — a practice which allows the Israeli authorities to hold them without charge or trial.As seen before, large numbers of Palestinians would be released from Israeli jails in exchange for hostages.President Trump has described this as the "final" truce proposal and said last week that Israel had accepted "the necessary conditions" to finalise it.On Friday, Hamas said it had responded in a "positive spirit" but expressed some reservations.A Palestinian official said sticking points remained over humanitarian aid — with Hamas demanding an immediate end to operations by the controversial Israeli and American-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and a return to the UN and its partners overseeing all relief efforts.Hamas is also said to be questioning the timetable for Israeli troop withdrawals and operations of the Rafah crossing between southern Gaza and Egypt.Netanyahu's office stated on Saturday that the changes wanted by Hamas were "not acceptable" to Israel.The prime minister has repeatedly said that Hamas must be disarmed, a demand the Islamist group has so far refused to discuss.In Israel, there is growing opposition to the war in Gaza, with more than 20 soldiers killed in the past month, according to the military.The Israeli military's chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, said last week that it was nearing the completion of its war goals and signalled that the government must decide whether to move ahead with a deal to bring home hostages or prepare for Israeli forces to re-establish military rule in Gaza.Polls indicate that two-thirds of Israelis support a ceasefire deal to bring home the hostages.In Gaza, some residents express fears that the current wave of positivity is being manufactured to ease tensions during Netanyahu's US trip — rationalising that this happened in May as Trump prepared to visit Arab Gulf states.The coming days will be critical politically and in humanitarian terms.The situation in Gaza has continued to deteriorate, with medical staff reporting acute malnutrition among children.The UN says that with no fuel having entered in over four months, stockpiles are now virtually gone, threatening vital medical care, water supplies and telecommunications.Israel launched its war in Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and led to 251 others being taken hostage.Israeli attacks have since killed more than 57,000 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The ministry's figures are quoted by the UN and others as the most reliable source of statistics available on casualties. — BBC
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Netanyahu says any future Palestinian state would be a platform to destroy Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he wanted peace with Palestinians but described any future independent state as a platform to destroy Israel, and for that reason, sovereign power over security must remain with Israel. Speaking at the White House, where he met US President Donald Trump, Netanyahu described the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip – where Hamas was in control – as evidence of what Palestinians would do with a state. Trump said, 'I don't know,' when he was asked by reporters if a two-state solution was possible and referred the question to Netanyahu. Netanyahu said: 'I think the Palestinians should have all the powers to govern themselves, but none of the powers to threaten us. That means a sovereign power, like overall security, will always remain in our hands.' Later he added: 'After October 7th, people said the Palestinians have a state, a Hamas state in Gaza, and look what they did with it. They didn't build it up. They built down into bunkers, into terror tunnels after which they massacred our people, raped our women, beheaded our men, invaded our cities and our towns, our kibbutzim and did horrendous massacres, the kind of which we didn't see since World War Two and the Nazis, the Holocaust. So people aren't likely to say, 'Let's just give them another state.' It'll be a platform to destroy Israel.' 'We will work out a peace with our Palestinian neighbors, those who don't want to destroy us, and we will work out a peace in which our security, the sovereign power of security, always remains in our hands,' Netanyahu said. 'Now people will say, 'It's not a complete state, it's not a state, it's not that.' We don't care. We vowed never again. Never again is now. It's not going to happen again.' Palestinians have long sought to create an independent state in the occupied West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem through a US-mediated peace process. Many accuse Israel of having destroyed Palestinian statehood prospects through increased settlement building in the West Bank and by leveling much of Gaza during the current war. Israel rejects this. Cabinet ministers in Netanyahu's Likud party called last week for Israel to annex the Israeli-occupied West Bank before the Knesset recesses at the end of July. Israel's pro-settler politicians have been emboldened by the return to the White House of Trump, who has proposed Palestinians leave Gaza – a suggestion widely condemned across the Middle East and beyond. The Gaza war erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive. Israel's subsequent assault on the Palestinian enclave has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry. Most of Gaza's population has been displaced by the war. Trump hosted Netanyahu at a White House dinner on Monday, while Israeli officials held indirect negotiations with Hamas in Qatar aimed at securing a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal.
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Trump says new tariff deadline ‘not 100 percent firm'
US President Donald Trump reignited his trade war by threatening more than a dozen countries with higher tariffs Monday, but then said he may be flexible on his new August deadline to reach deals. Trump sent letters to trading partners including key US allies Japan and South Korea, announcing that duties he had suspended in April would snap back even more steeply in three weeks. Tokyo and Seoul would be hit with 25 percent tariffs on their goods, he wrote. Countries including Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand, South Africa and Malaysia were slapped with duties ranging from 25 percent to 40 percent. But in a move that will cause fresh uncertainty in a global economy already unsettled by his tariffs, the 79-year-old once again left the countries room to negotiate a deal. 'I would say firm, but not 100 percent firm,' Trump told reporters at a dinner with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when asked if the August 1 deadline was firm. Pressed on whether the letters were his final offer, Trump replied: 'I would say final – but if they call with a different offer, and I like it, then we'll do it.' The US president had unveiled sweeping tariffs on imports on what he called 'Liberation Day' on April 2, including a baseline 10 percent tariff on all countries. But he quickly suspended all tariffs above 10 percent for 90 days following turmoil in the markets. They were due to kick back in on Wednesday and Trump sent the letters in advance of that deadline. Trump's near-identically worded letters to Japanese and South Korean leaders said he would impose 25 percent tariffs as their trading relationships with Washington were 'unfortunately, far from reciprocal.' He warned of further escalation if there was retaliation against the levies. But Trump on Monday also signed an order formally extending the Wednesday deadline, postponing it to August 1. 'President's prerogative' The new August date effectively marks a further delay – and Trump's latest comments threaten to compound the uncertainty over when the deadline really is. According to letters posted to Trump's Truth Social platform, products from Indonesia will face a 32 percent tariff, while the level for Bangladesh is 35 percent and Thailand, 36 percent. Most countries receiving letters so far had duties similar or unchanged from rates threatened in April, although some like Laos and Cambodia saw notably lower levels. The Trump administration is under pressure to show results after promising '90 deals in 90 days.' So far only two firm deals have emerged, with Britain and Vietnam, plus an agreement to dial back super-high tit-for-tat tariffs with China. Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Sunday that he 'won't easily compromise' in trade talks with Washington. Asked why Trump opted to start with Japan and South Korea, Leavitt said: 'It's the president's prerogative, and those are the countries he chose.' 'This announcement will send a chilling message to others,' said Asia Society Policy Institute Vice President Wendy Cutler, referring to Trump's initial letters to Tokyo and Seoul. 'Both have been close partners on economic security matters,' she said, adding that companies from Japan and South Korea have made 'significant manufacturing investments in the US in recent years.' US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that there would be more deals coming up: 'We are going to have several announcements in the next 48 hours.' Major US stock indexes fell from records Monday on Trump's fresh threats. The Nasdaq tumbled 0.9 percent and the S&P 500 lost 0.8 percent. Trump has also threatened an extra 10 percent tariff on countries aligning themselves with the emerging BRICS nations, accusing them of 'anti-American policies' after they slammed his duties at a summit. But partners are still rushing to avert Trump's tariffs altogether. The European Commission said EU chief Ursula von der Leyen had a 'good exchange' with Trump on trade when the pair spoke Sunday.
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Netanyahu says has nominated Trump for Nobel Peace Prize
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he has nominated Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, presenting the US president 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 at a dinner with Trump at the White House. Trump has received multiple Nobel Peace Prize nominations from supporters and loyal lawmakers over the years, and has made no secret of his irritation at missing out on the prestigious award. The Republican has complained that he had been overlooked by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for his mediating role in conflicts between India and Pakistan, as well as Serbia and Kosovo. He has also demanded credit for 'keeping peace' between Egypt and Ethiopia and brokering the Abraham Accords, a series of agreements aiming to normalize relations between Israel and several Arab nations. Trump campaigned for office as a 'peacemaker' who would use his negotiating skills to quickly end wars in Ukraine and Gaza, although both conflicts are still raging more than five months into his presidency.
