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Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped a meeting with US President Donald Trump would push forward a deal to release Israeli hostages in Gaza, as he left for Washington amid growing discontent in his cabinet about a potential ceasefire in the war with Hamas.
The Israeli prime minister sent a negotiating team to Doha on Sunday seeking to finalise a US-brokered deal to halt the fighting for 60 days, release 28 Israeli hostages and begin talks on a permanent end to the war. That came despite his office rejecting the Palestinian militant group’s latest demands as “unacceptable”.
Netanyahu told reporters at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday: “We’re working to achieve this deal that has been discussed, according to the terms that we agreed to . . . And I certainly think the conversation with President Trump can help advance this result that we’re all hoping for.”
The meeting with Trump will be Netanyahu’s third visit to the White House since the US president was inaugurated in January, more than any other world leader. It also follows last month’s Israeli and US attacks on Iran.
Netanyahu said he would thank Trump for his “strong enlistment on behalf of Israel . . . against our common enemy, Iran,” as he vowed to “remain vigilant” against any attempt by Tehran to obtain a nuclear weapon.
Trump told reporters on Sunday evening that “we’re close to a deal on Gaza” and “we could have it this week”.
“I think there’s a good chance we have a deal with Hamas during the week, during the coming week, pertaining to quite a few of the hostages. You know, we’ve gotten a lot of the hostages out, but pertaining to the remaining hostages, quite a few of them will be coming out,” he said.
Trump added that Iran would also be discussed with Netanyahu.
“We’re working on a lot of things with Israel, and one of the things is probably a permanent deal with Iran. Otherwise, they have to give up all of the things that you know so well,” he said.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss the possibility of normalising diplomatic relations or reaching other security deals between Israel and neighbouring Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and Syria.
After the Iran war, “clearly we have changed the Middle East beyond recognition, and we have an opportunity to change it even further,” Netanyahu said on Sunday.
Most Arab officials maintain that any move to normalise ties would require at the very least an end to the Gaza war, and probably a pathway to a future Palestinian state.
Trump has made clear his desire for a ceasefire in Gaza, and said on Friday that he was “very optimistic”.
Yet over the weekend pressure grew on Netanyahu from far-right allies in his governing coalition, who voiced opposition to any halt in the war and any increase in the meagre aid allowed into the shattered enclave.
More than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gazan health authorities, in the conflict triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
As part of the proposal drafted by the US, Qatar and Egypt — seen by the Financial Times — over the course of the initial 60-day ceasefire a massive influx of aid would take place through the UN and other international aid groups.
This UN-led mechanism was halted in effect by Israel in March, as it first instituted a 10-week siege and then began implementing a private aid scheme, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, supported by the Trump administration.
Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich criticised Netanyahu on Sunday for not fulfilling what he said were previous government decisions to promote mechanisms designed to prevent aid from falling into the hands of Hamas.
“The decision made yesterday [by Netanyahu’s security cabinet], contrary to our position, to introduce aid in the old and bad way is unacceptable to us and we will consider our steps against it,” Smotrich wrote on X.
Far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also criticised the proposal, demanding that Israeli military force reconquer the whole enclave, halt all aid and encourage Gazans to “emigrate”.
According to the draft proposals, “serious negotiations” to end the war — a long-held Hamas demand — would start on day one, with mediators set to provide guarantees to extend the truce should more time be needed to reach a permanent ceasefire.
More negotiations would be needed to determine the extent of the Israeli military’s withdrawal during the truce, with Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails also being released in exchange for the hostages.
Netanyahu has consistently refused to commit to ending the war until “total victory” over Hamas is achieved.
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