US President Donald Trump hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — who is wanted by the International Criminal Court — on Monday to push for an end to the Gaza war, after Israel and Hamas held indirect talks in Qatar on an elusive ceasefire.
Trump has said he believes there is a “good chance” of an agreement this week for a ceasefire in the Palestinian territory, hot on the heels of a truce in the war between Israel and Iran.
The US president — who has expressed increasing concern over the situation in Gaza in recent weeks — will have dinner behind closed doors with Netanyahu, their third meeting since Trump returned to power.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said it was Trump’s “utmost priority… to end the war in Gaza and to return all of the hostages.”
Leavitt said Trump wanted Hamas to agree to a US-brokered proposal “right now” after Israel backed the plan for a ceasefire and the release of hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
The latest round of negotiations on the war in Gaza began on Sunday in Doha, with representatives seated in different rooms in the same building.
A second session was held on Monday and ended with “no breakthrough,” a Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations told AFP.
The Hamas and Israeli delegations were due to resume talks later on Monday, the official said.
‘Good chance’
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff was due to join the talks in Doha later this week in an effort to get a ceasefire over the line as Israel’s war on Gaza nears its 22nd month.
In Washington, key US ally Netanyahu was to hold separate meetings with Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio before his dinner with Trump at 6:30 pm local time (2230 GMT).
Netanyahu, speaking before heading to Washington, said his meeting with Trump could “definitely help advance” a deal with Hamas.
Trump said on Sunday that there was a “good chance we have a deal with Hamas… during the coming week”.
He added that during his talks with Netanyahu he wanted to discuss a “permanent deal” with Iran, following a truce with Israel that was precipitated by US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
But the talks in both Washington and Doha promise to be tense.
Netanyahu previously said Hamas’s initial response to the draft ceasefire proposal contained “unacceptable” demands.
The proposal included a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living captives and several bodies in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel, two Palestinian sources close to the discussions had earlier told AFP.
But the group was also demanding certain conditions for Israel’s withdrawal, guarantees against a resumption of fighting during negotiations, and the return of the UN-led aid distribution system, they said.
‘End the war’
In Israel, Netanyahu is facing domestic pressure to agree a deal to secure the return of the remaining captives held in Gaza.
In Israel’s coastal hub of Tel Aviv, hours before the meeting, dozens of people including relatives of captives demonstrated to demand the release of the remaining captives.
“President Trump — make history. Bring them all home. End the war,” read a sign held by protesters outside the US diplomatic mission in the city.
Of the 251 captives taken by Palestinian militants during the Hamas attack that triggered the war, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel, meanwhile, is holding some 10,000 Palestinians in detention — around a third of whom are being held without charge or trial.
Two previous ceasefires have broken down and efforts to broker a new truce have repeatedly failed, with the primary point of contention being Israel’s rejection of Hamas’s demand for a lasting ceasefire.
