Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the press on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday his meeting with US President Donald Trump focused on freeing hostages held in Gaza, as Israel continued to pound the Palestinian territory amid efforts to reach a ceasefire.
Netanyahu said on X that the leaders also discussed the consequences and possibilities of “the great victory we achieved over Iran,” following an aerial war last month in which the United States joined Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear sites.
Netanyahu is making his third US visit since Trump took office on January 20 and had 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.
Trump met Netanyahu on Tuesday for the second time in two days to discuss the situation in Gaza, with the president’s Middle East envoy indicating that Israel and Hamas were nearing an agreement on a ceasefire deal after 21 months of war.
A delegation from Qatar, the host of indirect talks between Israeli negotiators and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, met senior White House officials before Netanyahu’s arrival on Tuesday, Axios said, citing a source familiar with the details.
The White House had no immediate comment on the report.
Steve Witkoff, 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.
Witkoff told reporters at a Cabinet meeting that the anticipated agreement would involve a 60-day ceasefire, with the release of 10 living and nine deceased hostages.
Netanyahu met with Vice President JD Vance before visiting the US Capitol on Tuesday, and was due back in Congress on Wednesday to meet Senate leaders.
“We have still to finish the job in Gaza, release all our hostages, eliminate and destroy Hamas’ military and government capabilities,” Netanyahu told reporters on Tuesday.
The Gaza conflict began with a Hamas attack on southern Israel in October 2023 that killed approximately 1,200 people and saw 251 hostages taken, according to Israeli figures. Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
Around 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive.
Hamas has long demanded an end to the war before it would free the remaining hostages. Israel has insisted it would not agree to stop fighting until all hostages are released and Hamas dismantled.
Netanyahu has meanwhile expressed hope that Israel could expand the Abraham Accords, diplomatic normalization deals reached between the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco in 2020 under US mediation.
“We are working on this with full vigour,” Netanyahu said on X.
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Author: Reuters and Algemeiner Staff
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