Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that his meeting with US President Donald Trump focused on freeing hostages held in Gaza.
He stressed his determination to “eliminate” the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas.
Netanyahu said on X that the leaders also discussed the consequences and possibilities of “the great victory we achieved over Iran,” following an aerial war last month in which the United States joined Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear sites.
“We have still to finish the job in Gaza, release all our hostages, eliminate and destroy Hamas’ military and government capabilities,” Netanyahu said.
He is making his third US visit since Trump took office on January 20 and had earlier told reporters that while he did not think Israel’s campaign in the Palestinian enclave was done, negotiators are “certainly working” on a ceasefire.
Trump met Netanyahu on Tuesday for the second time in two days to discuss the situation in Gaza, with the president’s Middle East envoy indicating that Israel and Hamas were nearing an agreement on a ceasefire deal after nearly two years of war.
Netanyahu also said that ceasefire efforts were underway.
A delegation from Qatar, the host of indirect talks between Israeli negotiators and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, met senior White House officials before Netanyahu’s arrival on Tuesday, Axios said, citing a source familiar with the details.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, said the number of issues preventing Israel and Hamas from reaching an agreement had decreased from four to one, expressing optimism for a temporary ceasefire deal by the end of the week.
Witkoff said a cabinet meeting that the anticipated agreement would involve a 60-day ceasefire, with the release of ten live hostages and nine deceased individuals.
Netanyahu met with Vice President JD Vance and then visited the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, and is due back in Congress on Wednesday to meet with U.S. Senate leaders.
He told reporters after a meeting with the Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson that while he did not think Israel’s campaign in the Palestinian enclave was done, negotiators are “certainly working” on a ceasefire.
At the start of the meeting, the leaders indicated progress on a controversial effort to relocate Palestinians out of Gaza.
The Gaza conflict began with a Hamas attack on southern Israel in October 2023 that resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people and the taking of 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Currently, around 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive.
Israel’s retaliatory war has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, as reported by Gaza’s health ministry, and reduced much of Gaza to rubble.
The United Nations estimates that most of Gaza’s population has been displaced, with nearly half a million people facing famine in the coming months.
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