No Gaza truce yet as Trump, Bibi meet, Zionist troops killed
Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Washington, meanwhile, on his third visit to the White House since Trump returned to power. Trump, who is pushing for a ceasefire, expressed confidence a deal could be reached, saying: 'I don't think there is a hold-up. I think things are going along very well.' Trump said he will meet again with Netanyahu to push for a Gaza deal, a day after the two leaders had dinner at the White House.
Qatar, a mediator along with the United States and Egypt, said the meetings in Doha were focused on a framework for the talks, while a Palestinian official close to the negotiations said no breakthrough had been achieved so far. Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff was set to join the talks in Doha this week.
On the ground, five Zionist soldiers were killed in combat in northern Gaza — one of the deadliest days this year for Zionist forces in the Palestinian territory. Gaza's civil defense meanwhile reported 29 killed in Zionist strikes on Tuesday. The Zionist entity and Hamas began the latest round of negotiations on Sunday, with representatives seated in separate rooms within the same building.
At the White House, sitting across from Netanyahu, Trump said Hamas was willing to end the Gaza conflict, now in its 22nd month. 'They want to meet and they want to have that ceasefire,' Trump said when asked if ongoing clashes would derail talks. However, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir opposed negotiations with Hamas, saying that 'there is no need to negotiate with those who murder our fighters; they must be torn to shreds'.
Netanyahu described the loss of five soldiers in Gaza as a 'difficult morning' and mourned 'our heroic soldiers who risked their lives in the battle to defeat Hamas and free all our hostages'. Zionist military correspondents reported the deaths occurred due to improvised explosive devices near Beit Hanun in northern Gaza. According to the Zionist military, 450 soldiers have been killed in the Gaza military campaign.
Gaza's civil defense agency reported 29 people killed in Zionist strikes across the territory, including three children. Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman for the agency, said nine of those were killed in a drone strike on a camp for displaced people in southern Gaza. 'I was in front of my tent preparing breakfast for my four children — beans and a bit of dry bread. Suddenly, there was an explosion,' said Shaimaa Al-Shaer, 30, who lives in the camp.
The war has created dire humanitarian conditions for Gaza's more than two million people. The Zionist campaign has killed at least 57,575 people in Gaza, mostly civilians. While the Zionist entity has the full backing of the Trump administration, the US leader has increasingly pushed for an end to what he called the 'hell' in Gaza and said on Sunday he believed there was 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.
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