President Donald Trump will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the White Home on Monday to try to flip rising hopes right into a deal to finish to Israel’s offensive in Gaza and free hostages nonetheless held within the devastated Palestinian enclave.
Trump sounded optimistic in an unique interview with NBC Information on Sunday forward of the essential talks.
“We’re doing very properly. It seems like there’s a actually good likelihood for peace within the Center East,” Trump mentioned. “All people is on board. All people.”
Netanyahu’s tete-a-tete with Trump comes as Israel faces mounting world isolation and outrage, with a number of Western powers embracing Palestinian statehood in defiance of the U.S. and its shut ally, whereas Israeli forces push forward with a lethal assault on famine-stricken Gaza Metropolis.
Netanyahu’s authorities has additionally confronted rising stress from Trump over Israel’s actions within the Center East, with the president warning he wouldn’t enable the nation to annex the already occupied West Financial institution and expressing uncommon public frustration over the assault concentrating on Hamas officers in U.S. ally Qatar.
That strike, on senior leaders gathering to debate a U.S. peace proposal within the capital of an important mediator, had appeared to derail negotiations. And Netanyahu vowed to “end the job” in Gaza in his speech on the United Nations on Friday that noticed dozens of delegates stroll out in protest.
Nonetheless, Trump on Sunday sounded optimistic about the potential of a truce, regardless of previous efforts repeatedly falling brief.
“We’ve got an actual likelihood for GREATNESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST,” Trump mentioned in a publish on Reality Social. “ALL ARE ON BOARD FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL, FIRST TIME EVER. WE WILL GET IT DONE,” he mentioned.
Trump and Netanyahu are anticipated to satisfy within the Oval Workplace, with a information convention to observe.
Hamas has beforehand mentioned it can solely launch the remaining hostages held in Gaza in trade for an enduring ceasefire and Israel’s withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave.
Not less than 48 hostages are believed to stay held in Gaza, of whom solely 20 are believed to be alive.
On Sunday, Hamas’ navy wing, the Qassam Brigades, mentioned it had misplaced contact with two of the prisoners being held in Gaza attributable to Israel’s operations within the Sabra and Tel al-Hawa neighborhoods.
It referred to as on Israeli forces to withdraw from the world and quickly halt air operations to permit makes an attempt to find the hostages.
The Hostages and Lacking Households Discussion board, which represents the households of hostages, mentioned in an announcement that the households of the captives named by Hamas have been working with authorities to assessment the militant group’s claims.
Trump mentioned Friday that Hamas was “very a lot conscious” of discussions round a peace plan and that Israel had additionally been “knowledgeable in any respect ranges.”
Trump offered his 21-point peace plan to Arab nations final week in a gathering held on the sidelines of the annual U.N. Basic Meeting.
The president was left feeling extra optimistic concerning the chance of an settlement due to the assembly, a White Home official mentioned, including that some progress was made. It’s unclear, nonetheless, whether or not Hamas has signed off on any deal that will free all of the hostages and implement a 60-day ceasefire.
The group mentioned Sunday it had not acquired any new proposal since negotiations have been suspended after the Israeli assault on its negotiating group in Doha.
Round 250 individuals have been taken hostage within the Hamas-led assaults on Oct. 7, 2023, wherein some 1,200 individuals have been additionally killed, marking a serious escalation in a decadeslong battle.
Since then, greater than 66,000 individuals have been killed in Gaza beneath Israel’s assault, together with 1000’s of kids, whereas a lot of the enclave has been destroyed.
Yamiche Alcindor, Reuters, The Related Press, Monica Alba and Carol E. Lee contributed.
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