Trump upbeat on Gaza ceasefire talks as he hosts Netanyahu

[ad_1] Watch: Second Benjamin Netanyahu palms Donald Trump nomination for Nobel Peace Prize

US President Donald Trump has stated he thinks talks to finish the struggle in Gaza have been "going alongside very effectively", as he hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington DC.

Trump additionally expressed confidence that Hamas was prepared to finish the 21-month battle. "They wish to meet and so they wish to have that ceasefire," he stated in surprising remarks to reporters on the White Home.

The assembly got here after the most recent rounds of oblique ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas in Qatar ended with out a breakthrough, although negotiations have been anticipated to proceed this week.

In Monday's remarks, Trump was requested by a journalist what was stopping a peace deal in Gaza, and he stated: "I do not suppose there's a hold-up. I believe issues are going alongside very effectively."

Each leaders have been requested about potential plans to relocate Palestinians, with Trump saying he has co-operation from nations neighbouring Israel.

Netanyahu, in the meantime, stated he was working with the US on discovering nations that can "give Palestinians a greater future".

"If individuals wish to keep, they will keep, but when they wish to depart, they need to be capable of depart," Netanyahu stated.

The Palestinian presidency has beforehand rejected plans to relocate Palestinians, which it identified would violate worldwide regulation.

Netanyahu additionally appeared to minimize prospects of full Palestinian statehood, saying that Israel will "all the time" maintain safety management over the Gaza Strip.

"Now, individuals will say it is not a whole state, it is not a state. We do not care," Netanyahu stated.

On the assembly, the Israeli PM additionally stated he had nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, reportedly a long-held objective of the US president.

"He is forging peace as we communicate, in a single nation, in a single area after the opposite," Netanyahu stated as he introduced Trump with a letter he despatched to the prize committee.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/ae6a/live/2e18d840-5b8a-11f0-b5c5-012c5796682d.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/ae6a/live/2e18d840-5b8a-11f0-b5c5-012c5796682d.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/ae6a/live/2e18d840-5b8a-11f0-b5c5-012c5796682d.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/ae6a/live/2e18d840-5b8a-11f0-b5c5-012c5796682d.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/ae6a/live/2e18d840-5b8a-11f0-b5c5-012c5796682d.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/ae6a/live/2e18d840-5b8a-11f0-b5c5-012c5796682d.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/ae6a/live/2e18d840-5b8a-11f0-b5c5-012c5796682d.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/ae6a/live/2e18d840-5b8a-11f0-b5c5-012c5796682d.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="Reuters US President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in Washington DC on 7 July 2025." class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Reuters Trump has beforehand stated he could be "very agency" with the Israeli PM about ending the struggle and indicated that "we'll have a deal" this week.

The White Home initially stated it might not make the assembly between the 2 leaders open to media, with officers describing it as a non-public dinner throughout which Trump would prioritise the push for an finish to the struggle and the return of all hostages.

Protecting the assembly closed to journalists would have been uncommon for a president who likes to platform his positions with international leaders in entrance of the world's press.

The US-backed ceasefire proposal would reportedly see Hamas launch 10 dwelling hostages and the our bodies of 18 lifeless hostages in 5 phases throughout a 60-day truce.

Israel could be required to launch an unknown variety of Palestinian prisoners and withdraw from components of Gaza, the place it now controls about two-thirds of the territory.

Obstacles to a deal stay vital.

The principle excellent subject pertains to support, as Hamas insists on ending the work of the Gaza Humanitarian Basis, whereas the Israeli delegation refuses to debate the problem, saying they aren't authorised to debate it.

Throughout his go to, Netanyahu met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's Center East envoy Steve Witkoff.

As Netanyahu's armoured limousine travelled to the White Home, dozens of protesters gathered at safety gates, waving Palestinian flags and shouting requires the Israeli's PM's arrest.

Netanyahu, alongside together with his former defence minister Yoav Gallant and a Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, have been made topics of an arrest warrant in November from the Worldwide Legal Courtroom (ICC) for alleged struggle crimes and crimes in opposition to humanity.

Netanyahu has rejected the allegations, calling the warrants antisemitic, whereas the Trump administration has imposed sanctions on 4 ICC judges for what it referred to as "baseless actions concentrating on America or our shut ally, Israel".

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/9081/live/04791ac0-5b8c-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/9081/live/04791ac0-5b8c-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/9081/live/04791ac0-5b8c-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/9081/live/04791ac0-5b8c-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/9081/live/04791ac0-5b8c-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/9081/live/04791ac0-5b8c-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/9081/live/04791ac0-5b8c-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/9081/live/04791ac0-5b8c-11f0-960d-e9f1088a89fe.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Getty Images Protesters wave Palestinian flags during Benjamin Netanyahu's visit with Donald Trump in Washington DC on 7 July 2025." class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Getty Pictures Protesters wave Palestinian flags throughout Benjamin Netanyahu's go to with Donald Trump in Washington DC

The newest spherical of negotiations on the struggle in Gaza started on Sunday in Doha, with representatives seated in several rooms in the identical constructing.

A second session was held on Monday and ended with out a breakthrough, a Palestinian official acquainted with the negotiations advised AFP.

Witkoff was resulting from be a part of the talks in Doha later this week in an effort to get a ceasefire over the road because the Gaza battle nears its twenty second month.

Talking to the BBC, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee declined to say whether or not Trump would give a written assure {that a} proposed 60-day ceasefire could be prolonged, as long as negotiations proceed.

"I merely do not know," Huckabee stated.

That is considered one of Hamas's key calls for and a stumbling block within the present negotiations.

When requested whether or not he believes Trump can obtain a breakthrough with the Israeli chief, Huckabee stated: "I am not a prophet. I can't predict the longer term, so I will not attempt to inform you what is going to occur."

Netanyahu is visiting the White Home for the third time since Trump returned to energy almost six months in the past.

However the leaders are assembly for the primary time for the reason that US joined Israeli assaults on Iranian nuclear websites after which brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

There's a robust sense that the current 12-day struggle has created extra beneficial circumstances to finish the Gaza struggle.

Witkoff stated at Monday's dinner {that a} US assembly with Iran would happen within the subsequent week or so. Trump additionally stated he wish to carry sanctions on the Islamic Republic in some unspecified time in the future.

The US president has expressed growing concern over the battle in Gaza in current weeks and believes there's a "good probability" of reaching a ceasefire.

White Home spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt stated it was Trump's "utmost precedence" to finish the struggle in Gaza and that he wished Hamas to comply with the 60-day deal "proper now".