Netanyahu, Trump prioritise Gaza hostages and Hamas ceasefire in US talks

WASHINGTON - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on July 9 that his meeting with US President Donald Trump focused on freeing hostages held in Gaza, and stressed his determination to “eliminate” the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas.

Mr Netanyahu said on social media platform X that the leaders also discussed the consequences and possibilities of “the great victory we achieved over Iran”, following an aerial war in June in which the United States joined Israeli attacks on the Islamic republic’s nuclear sites.

Mr Netanyahu is making his third US visit since Mr Trump took office on Jan 20, and 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.

Mr Trump met Mr Netanyahu on July 8 for the second time in two days to discuss the situation in Gaza, with the President’s Middle East envoy indicating that Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas were nearing an agreement on a ceasefire deal after nearly two years of war.

Mr Netanyahu also said ceasefire efforts were under way.

A delegation from Qatar, the host of indirect talks between Israeli negotiators and Hamas, met senior White House officials before Mr Netanyahu’s arrival on July 8, US news site Axios said, citing a source familiar with the details.

The White House had no immediate comment on the report.

Mr Steve Witkoff, Mr 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.

Mr Witkoff told reporters at a Cabinet meeting that the anticipated agreement would involve a 60-day ceasefire, with the release of 10 live hostages and nine dead individuals.

Mr Netanyahu met Vice-President J.D. Vance and then visited the US Capitol on July 8, and is due back in Congress on July 9 to meet US Senate leaders.

He told reporters after a meeting with Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson: “We have still to finish the job in Gaza, release all our hostages, eliminate and destroy Hamas’ military and government capabilities.”

The Gaza conflict began with 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.

Hamas has long demanded an end to the war before it would free the remaining hostages.

Israel has insisted it would not agree to end the fighting until all hostages are released and Hamas is dismantled.

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.

Mr Netanyahu expressed hope that Israel could expand the Abraham Accords, normalisation deals reached between the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco in 2020 under US mediation.

“We are working on this with full vigour,” Mr Netanyahu said on X.

Mr Trump had strongly supported Mr Netanyahu, even wading into domestic Israeli politics by criticising prosecutors over a corruption trial against the Israeli leader on bribery, fraud and breach-of-trust charges that Mr Netanyahu denies.

In his remarks to reporters at the US Congress, Mr Netanyahu praised Mr Trump, saying there has never been closer coordination between the US and Israel in his country’s history. REUTERS