Trump says he thinks Hamas and Israel want a ceasefire deal in Gaza
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Israel-Gaza live: Trump to meet Netanyahu and discuss ‘permanent deal’ with Iran
Tony Blair Institute rejects ‘wrong’ report about staffers ‘participating’ in plan for ‘Gaza Riviera’ The plan is outlined in a slide deck, led by an Israeli businessman and used in financial models developed by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) It reimagines Gaza as a thriving trading hub, the FT reported. It is also said to propose paying half a million Palestinians to leave the area while attracting private investors to develop Gaza. TBI has given a full statement to Sky News. It reads: “The characterisation of TBI ‘involvement’ in this BCG deck is wrong and seriously misleading. We were not involved in drawing up the deck, it is emphatically not TBI work or ‘joint’ work”
Staff from the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) thinktank are said to have participated in a project to develop Gaza once the war with Israel is over.
The project, which the Institute has firmly distanced itself from, apparently envisages a “Trump Riviera” and an “Elon Musk Smart Manufacturing Zone”.
The plan is outlined in a slide deck, led by an Israeli businessman and used in financial models developed by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the Financial Times said.
Called the Great Trust, and shared with the Trump administration, it reimagines Gaza as a thriving trading hub, the FT reported.
It is also said to propose paying half a million Palestinians to leave the area while attracting private investors to develop Gaza.
Two TBI staffers participated in message groups and calls as the project developed but did not author or endorse the final slide deck, the FT said.
The paper added: “One lengthy document on postwar Gaza, written by a TBI staff member, was shared within the group for consideration.
“This included the idea of a ‘Gaza Riviera’ with artificial islands off the coast akin to those in Dubai, blockchain-based trade initiatives, a deep water port to tie Gaza into the India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor, and low-tax ‘special economic zones’.”
The FT said that while there was some “overlap”, the Israeli businessman’s proposals “differed significantly” from the paper written by TBI staff.
It went on: “The institute’s document did not refer to the relocation of Palestinians.”
TBI told the newspaper it had no involvement in the slide deck, the FT said.
Since then, the TBI has given a full statement to Sky News.
It reads:
“The characterisation of TBI ‘involvement’ in this BCG deck is wrong and seriously misleading.
“The deck is not a TBI deck, it is not authored by, let alone endorsed, by TBI. TBI was not involved in the preparation of the deck, which was a BCG deck, and had no input whatever into its contents.
“And Tony Blair himself has neither spoken to the people who prepared this deck nor commented on it.
“The TBI team speaks to many different groups and organisations with post-war ‘plans’ for Gaza, but had nothing to do with the authorship of this plan.
“TBI staff participated in two calls, as they have done with many other people with ‘Gaza plans’ and interacting with them doesn’t mean endorsement.
“But we were not involved in drawing up the deck, it is emphatically not TBI work or ‘joint’ work, so it would be completely wrong to suggest it is.
“Of course, we’re opposed to any plan which tries to make Gazans leave Gaza. We want them to be able to stay and live in Gaza.
“The TBI document referred to is an internal TBI document looking at proposals being made by various parties covering all the different aspects of what a post war Gaza could look like, though it is one of many such internal documents; but it was not produced in connection with the BCG work nor given to BCG.”
Netanyahu meets Trump at White House as Israel, Hamas discuss ceasefire
Visit marks Netanyahu’s third in Trump’s second term. Netanyahu: U.S. and Israel working with other countries to give Palestinians a “better future” Trump: “We’ve had great cooperation from … surrounding countries, great cooperation” Israeli officials continued indirect negotiations with Hamas aimed at securing a ceasefire and hostage-release deal.. Hundreds of protesters gathered near the White House, waving banners that read “Stop Arming Israel” and “Say No to Genocide”. They also called for Netanyahu’s arrest, referring to the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against the Israeli leader over alleged war crimes in Gaza.. The president earlier this year floated relocating Palestinians and taking over the Gaza Strip to turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” Gazans criticized the proposal and vowed never to leave their homes in the coastal enclave. The meeting was Trump’s third face-to-face encounter with Netanyahu since returning to office in January, and came just over two weeks after the president ordered the bombing of Iranian nuclear sites.
Visit marks Netanyahu’s third in Trump’s second term
Witkoff says US-Iran talks coming in next week or so
Hundreds of protesters march near White House
WASHINGTON/TEL AVIV, July 7 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump , hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday, said the United States had scheduled talks with Iran and indicated progress on a controversial effort to relocate Palestinians out of Gaza.
Speaking to reporters at the beginning of a dinner between U.S. and Israeli officials, Netanyahu said the United States and Israel were working with other countries who would give Palestinians a “better future,” suggesting that the residents of Gaza could move to neighboring nations.
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“If people want to stay, they can stay, but if they want to leave, they should be able to leave,” Netanyahu said.
“We’re working with the United States very closely about finding countries that will seek to realize what they always say, that they wanted to give the Palestinians a better future. I think we’re getting close to finding several countries.”
Trump, who initially demurred to Netanyahu when asked about the relocating of Palestinians, said the countries around Israel were helping out. “We’ve had great cooperation from … surrounding countries, great cooperation from every single one of them. So something good will happen,” Trump said.
The president earlier this year floated relocating Palestinians and taking over the Gaza Strip to turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” Gazans criticized the proposal and vowed never to leave their homes in the coastal enclave. Human rights groups condemned the plan as ethnic cleansing.
Trump and Netanyahu met for several hours in Washington while Israeli officials continued indirect negotiations with Hamas aimed at securing a U.S.-brokered Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal. Netanyahu returned to the Blair House guest house late on Monday, where he is due to meet Vice President JD Vance at 9:30 EDT on Tuesday.
Netanyahu’s visit follows Trump’s prediction, on the eve of their meeting, that such a deal could be reached this week. Before heading to Washington, the right-wing Israeli leader said his discussions with Trump could help advance negotiations under way in Qatar between Israel and the Palestinian militant group.
It was Trump’s third face-to-face encounter with Netanyahu since returning to office in January, and came just over two weeks after the president ordered the bombing of Iranian nuclear sites in support of Israeli air strikes. Trump then helped arrange a ceasefire in the 12-day Israel-Iran war.
Trump said his administration would be meeting with Iran. “We have scheduled Iran talks, and they … want to talk. They took a big drubbing,” he said.
Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said the meeting would take place in the next week or so.
Trump said he would like to lift sanctions on Iran at some point. “I would love to be able to, at the right time, take those sanctions off,” he said.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an interview released on Monday that he believed Iran could resolve its differences with the United States through dialogue.
Trump and his aides appeared to be trying to seize on any momentum created by the weakening of Iran, which backs Hamas, to push both sides for a breakthrough in the 21-month Gaza war
The two leaders, with their top advisers, held a private dinner in the White House Blue Room, instead of more traditional talks in the Oval Office, where the president usually greets visiting dignitaries.
Outside, hundreds of protesters, many wearing Palestinian keffiyeh scarves and waving Palestinian flags, gathered near the White House, waving banners that read “Stop Arming Israel” and “Say No to Genocide”. They also called for Netanyahu’s arrest, referring to the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against the Israeli leader over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Item 1 of 3 U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 7, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque [1/3] U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 7, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab
Netanyahu met earlier on Monday with Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He planned to visit the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday to see congressional leaders.
During their meeting, Netanyahu gave Trump a letter that he said he had used to nominate the U.S. president for the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump, appearing pleased by the gesture, thanked him.
Ahead of their visit, Netanyahu told reporters Israeli negotiators were driving for a deal on Gaza in Doha, Qatar’s capital.
Israeli officials also hope the outcome of the conflict with Iran will pave the way for normalization of relations with more of its neighbors such as Lebanon, Syria and Saudi Arabia.
SECOND DAY OF QATAR TALKS
Witkoff, who played a major role in crafting the 60-day ceasefire proposal at the center of the Qatar negotiations, will travel to Doha this week to join discussions there, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters earlier on Monday.
In a sign of continued gaps between the two sides, Palestinian sources said Israel’s refusal to allow the free and safe entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza remains the main obstacle to progress in the indirect talks. Israel insists it is taking steps to get food into Gaza but seeks to prevent militants from diverting supplies.
On the second day of negotiations, mediators hosted one round and talks were expected to resume in the evening, the Palestinian sources told Reuters.
The U.S.- backed proposal envisages a phased release of hostages, Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza and discussions on ending the war entirely.
Hamas has long demanded a final end to the war before it would free remaining hostages; Israel has insisted it would not agree to halt fighting until all hostages are released and Hamas dismantled.
Trump told reporters last week that he would be “very firm” with Netanyahu on the need for a speedy Gaza deal and that the Israeli leader also wanted to end the war.
Some of Netanyahu’s hardline coalition partners oppose halting military operations but, with Israelis having become increasingly weary of the Gaza war, his government is expected to back a ceasefire if he can secure acceptable terms.
A ceasefire at the start of this year collapsed in March, and talks to revive it have so far been fruitless. Meanwhile, Israel has intensified its military campaign in Gaza and sharply restricted food distribution.
Gazans were watching closely for any sign of a breakthrough. “I ask God almighty that the negotiating delegation or the mediators pressure with all their strength to solve this issue, because it has totally became unbearable,” said Abu Suleiman Qadoum, a displaced resident of Gaza city.
The Gaza war erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive.
Israel’s retaliatory war in Gaza has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave’s health ministry. Most of Gaza’s population has been displaced by the war and nearly half a million people are facing famine within months, according to United Nations estimates.
Trump has been strongly supportive of Netanyahu, even wading into domestic Israeli politics last month by criticizing prosecutors over a corruption trial against the Israeli leader on bribery, fraud and breach-of-trust charges that Netanyahu denies.
Reporting by Jeff Mason, Andrea Shalal amd Matt Spetalnick in Washington, Alexander Cornwell in Tel Aviv and Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem; Additional reporting by Mahmoud Issa in Gaza, Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo, Jarrett Renshaw, Christian Martinez and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Richard Chang, Peter Graff, Deepa Babington, Cynthia Osterman and Michael Perry
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Trump and Netanyahu Meet Amid Gaza Cease-Fire Negotiations
The two celebrated the U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, and Mr. Netanyahu used the occasion to further ingratiate himself to the American president. Mr. Trump, for his part, compared his decision to authorize airstrikes to President Harry S. Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan during
But first, they indulged in some self-congratulation.
The two celebrated the U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, and Mr. Netanyahu used the occasion to further ingratiate himself to the American president by telling Mr. Trump he had nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize.
“He’s forging peace, as we speak, in one country in the region after another,” Mr. Netanyahu said, lavishing praise on Mr. Trump, who has long made known his desire for a Nobel Prize.
Mr. Trump, for his part, compared his decision to authorize airstrikes on Iran to President Harry S. Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan during World War II.
Trump hosts Netanyahu amid hopes for Gaza ceasefire
President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a dinner Monday night. The two leaders lavished praise on each other amid efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and determine the course of negotiations with Iran. Trump also pledged to send more weapons to Ukraine to aid the country in its war against Russia, saying they would be aimed at helping their defensive capabilities. The White House visit is Netanyahu’s third since Trump took office less than six months ago and was scheduled to be far more understated than his prior visits before it was opened to reporters at the last minute.Trump expressed optimism for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, saying, “They want to meet and they want to have that ceasefire.” Netanyahu made clear that he would stop far short of agreeing to the full statehood Palestinians have sought. “We’ll work out a peace with our Palestinian neighbors — those who don’t want to destroy us, and we’re quite a few hostages,” he said.
“You deserve it,” Netanyahu said as Trump read the letter, approvingly.
“Coming from you in particular, this is very meaningful,” Trump said.
In a notable shift, Trump also pledged to send more weapons to Ukraine to aid the country in its war against Russia, saying they would be aimed at helping their defensive capabilities.
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“We’re going to send some more weapons. We have to,” he said. “They have to be able to defend themselves. They’re getting hit very hard now. They’re getting hit very hard. We’re going to have to send more weapons.”
President Donald Trump said July 7 that the U.S. would send more defensive weapons to Ukraine, adding that he was “not happy” with his Russian counterpart. (Video: The Washington Post)
The White House visit is Netanyahu’s third since Trump took office less than six months ago and was scheduled to be far more understated than his prior visits before it was opened to reporters at the last minute.
Trump and Netanyahu sat at a long table in the Blue Room of the White House, their aides next to them and place settings for dinner in front of them. During an extended session with reporters, both leaders spoke of a need for shorter term agreements, but differences were still clear in their approaches to any long-term solutions.
Trump said that additional talks with Iran were scheduled, something his aides indicated would happen in the next week or so. Netanyahu, however, indicated that tensions were still lingering.
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The U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran led to “a historic victory,” Netanyahu said. “And I think as we sit here today, this has already changed the face of the Middle East,” he said. “And I hope — I’d like to believe that Iran would not, test our fortitude, because it would be a mistake.”
Trump expressed optimism for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, saying, “They want to meet and they want to have that ceasefire.”
But asked about the possibilities of a two-state solution that would give Palestinians control, Trump said he didn’t know and that it was a question for Netanyahu.
The prime minister made clear that he would stop far short of agreeing to the full statehood Palestinians have sought.
“I think the Palestinians should have all the powers to govern themselves, but none of the powers to threaten us,” Netanyahu said. “And that means that certain powers like overall security will always remain in our hands.”
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“We’ll work out a peace with our Palestinian neighbors — those who don’t want to destroy us, and we’ll work out a peace in which our security, the sovereign power of security, always remains in our hands,” he added. “Now, people will say it’s not a complete state. ‘It’s not a state. It’s not that’ — we don’t care. You know, we vowed never again. Never again is now. It’s not going to happen again.”
Netanyahu met earlier in the afternoon with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and then with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East and an architect of the proposed ceasefire deal. Witkoff plans to travel to Doha this week to continue negotiations, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, and Trump has expressed hope that a ceasefire deal can be wrapped up this week.
Netanyahu plans to stay in Washington for much of the week to meet with members of Congress, Pentagon officials and Vice President JD Vance.
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“I think we’re close to a deal on Gaza. Could have it this week,” Trump told reporters on Sunday. “I think there’s a good chance we have a deal with Hamas during the week pertaining to quite a few of the hostages. You know, we’ve gotten a lot of the hostages out, but pertaining to the remaining hostages, quite a few, we think we’ll have that done this week.”
The president has also expressed hope of expanding the Abraham Accords, reached during his first term. Under an expanded version of the accords, Israel could normalize relations with other countries in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia. That has appeared unlikely, but Netanyahu said before his departure that “the opportunity to expand the circle of peace (is) far beyond what we could have imagined before.”
Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, said several factors — in Israel, the wider Middle East and Washington — have laid the groundwork for what could be the most significant diplomatic shake-up in the Middle East since the 1970s.
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“Since the early 70s when [President Richard M.] Nixon and [Secretary of State Henry] Kissinger reengineered the architecture of the region, we have never been closer to an entire rearrangement of regional diplomacy and posture,” Plesner said. “For decades, things have been very stagnant, and now possibilities are opening up that we thought were unimaginable for decades.”
Part of the momentum has to do with Trump’s strategies, he said, but Israel’s military successes — beginning with the decimation of Hezbollah’s leadership last year and including its performance in the 12-day war with Iran — also have dramatically changed the power relationships in the region.
Jonathan Rynhold, the head of the political studies department at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, said there is “no doubt” that chances for a ceasefire have improved.
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“Hamas is under immense pressure. … And in Israel, public opinion has been against continuing the war,” he said. “Netanyahu owes Trump” because of the U.S. decision to join the attack against Iran’s nuclear program, he added.
“If President Trump is upset, that also damages Netanyahu at home,” Rynhold said.
Trump said last week that Israel had agreed to the framework of a deal for a 60-day ceasefire that mediators hope will provide a window of calm in which to negotiate an end to the 21-month war.
Under the framework, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post, more than half of the 50 Israeli hostages remaining in the custody of militants in Gaza — believed to include roughly 20 alive and 30 dead — would be released in five stages over the course of a two-month truce, in exchange for an as-yet unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners. The first release, on the first day of the ceasefire, would see eight living hostages freed. On Day 7, the bodies of five hostages would be released.
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On the 10th day, according to the framework, Hamas would provide information about the medical conditions of the remaining hostages, while Israel would reveal information about the Palestinians it has detained from Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023. The remaining hostages would be released when a final peace settlement is concluded.
Israel is holding more than 2,400 people from Gaza in administrative detention as “unlawful combatants,” according to Israeli rights group HaMoked. That status strips detainees of rights, including the right to a lawyer, for long periods — allowing Israel to hold many of them in secret for months. Released detainees reported having been subjected to physical, psychological and sexual abuse in Israeli prisons.
Prisoners from the West Bank are also expected to be released under the deal. If the ceasefire holds, additional exchanges would take place on days 30, 50 and 60.
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Also under the deal, Israeli forces would withdraw from parts of northern Gaza on the first day — and a week in, Israeli forces would pull back from parts of southern Gaza. The exact boundaries of the withdrawal map have yet to be agreed upon. Hamas submitted amendments to the proposal to mediators on Friday, as part of what the group called a “positive response.”
One of the points of contention is Hamas’s desire for Israeli forces to withdraw all the way to the lines they held during a previous ceasefire this year, according to Ibrahim Madhoun, a Palestinian political analyst close to Hamas. (Hamas has not commented publicly on the changes it has sought, and multiple Hamas officials did not respond to questions.) Since Israel broke the ceasefire in March, however, it has expanded the buffer zone officials say it intends to hold permanently inside Gaza.
Another potential sticking point: how humanitarian aid gets to Gaza’s civilian population. Hamas wants aid distributed through the United Nations and the Palestine Red Crescent Society, rather than through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an operation backed by Israel and the United States and patrolled by private American security contractors that has largely taken over aid distribution inside Gaza since late May.
The war began after Hamas and allied militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 in border communities and at military posts and capturing 250 hostages. Israel’s ensuing assault on Gaza has killed more than 57,000 people and injured more than 136,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The toll does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but the health ministry and outside analysts say women and children make up the majority of the dead.
Over the past 24 hours, 105 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Trump and Netanyahu meet, united after Iran strikes, but ending Gaza war may prove a higher hurdle
Netanyahu and Trump meet for the third time this year at the White House. The outwardly triumphant visit will be dogged by Israel’s 21-month war against Hamas in Gaza. The meeting could give new urgency to a U.S. ceasefire proposal being discussed by Israel and Hamas. But the precise details of the proposed ceasefire deal, and whether it can lead to an end to the war, are still in flux.. Netanyahu presented Mr. Trump with a letter he said he wrote nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. He said he was working “to achieve the deal under discussion, on the terms we agreed to” The Israeli prime minister also praised the joint strikes on Iran, calling them a “historic victory” and a “huge victory over our shared enemy” Mr. Netanyahu said the war will only end when Hamas is militarily defeated or surrenders, disarms and goes into exile — something the terrorist group’s remaining leaders have refused to do. The Israeli leader also said he is working to free at least some of the remaining 50 hostages held in Gaza, 20 of whom Netanyahu says are still alive.
“This is a historic victory,” Netanyahu said at the White House of the strikes against Iran. “This has already changed the face of the Middle East.”
Mr. Trump has made it clear that following the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, he would like to see the Gaza conflict end soon, ideally with a ceasefire agreement reached this week. The meeting between Mr. Trump and Netanyahu could give new urgency to a U.S. ceasefire proposal being discussed by Israel and Hamas, but whether it will lead to a deal that ends the war is unclear.
“The optics will be very positive,” said Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to Washington. “But behind the victory lap are going to be some very serious questions.”
Before departing for Washington on Sunday, Netanyahu praised the cooperation with the U.S. for bringing a “huge victory over our shared enemy.” He struck a positive note on a ceasefire for Gaza, saying he was working “to achieve the deal under discussion, on the terms we agreed to.”
“I think that the discussion with President Trump can certainly help advance that result, which all of us hope for,” Netanyahu said.
Israel and Hamas appear to be inching toward a new ceasefire agreement that would bring about a 60-day pause in the fighting, send aid flooding into Gaza and free at least some of the remaining 50 hostages held in the territory, 20 of whom Netanyahu says are still alive.
Palestinians wait for food to be distributed by a charity organization, July 7, 2025, in Gaza City, Gaza. Abdalhkem Abu Riash/Anadolu/Getty
But a perennial sticking point is whether the ceasefire will end the war altogether. Hamas has said it is willing to free all the hostages in exchange for an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Netanyahu has said the war will only end when Hamas is militarily defeated or surrenders, disarms and goes into exile — something the terrorist group’s remaining leaders have refused to do.
Trump’s quest to be known as peacemaker
Mr. Trump has made it clear that he wants to be known as a peacemaker. He’s repeatedly touted recent peace deals that his administration helped to facilitate — between India and Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, and Israel and Iran — and for years he has made little secret of the fact that he covets a Nobel Peace Prize.
Ahead of a dinner with U.S. and Israeli officials in the White House’s Blue Room on Monday, Netanyahu presented Mr. Trump with a letter he said he wrote nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Netanyahu told Mr. Trump that it’s “well-deserved, and you should get it.”
“This is very meaningful,” Mr. Trump said.
He has been pressuring Israel and Hamas to wrap up their own conflict, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, ravaged Gaza, deepened Israel’s international isolation and made any resolution to the broader conflict between Israel and the Palestinians more distant than ever.
But the precise details of the proposed ceasefire deal, and whether it can lead to an end to the war, are still in flux. In the days before Netanyahu’s visit, Mr. Trump seemed less certain of the chances of an imminent breakthrough.
Asked on Friday how confident he was that a ceasefire deal would come together, he told reporters: “I’m very optimistic — but you know, look, it changes from day to day.”
On Sunday evening, he seemed to narrow his expectations, telling reporters that he thought an agreement related to the remaining hostages would be reached in the coming week.
Gaza peace hinged on Trump and Netanyahu’s personal ties?
After Mr. Trump’s decision to get involved in Israel’s war in Iran with strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, he and Netanyahu have looked and sounded more in sync than ever. But that’s not always been the case.
As recently as Netanyahu’s last visit to Washington in April, the tone was markedly different.
Mr. Trump used the photo-op with Netanyahu to announce that the U.S. was entering into negotiations with Iran over its nuclear deal — appearing to catch the Israeli leader off guard and at the time, slamming the brakes on any Israeli military plan.
President Trump greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he arrives at the White House, April 7, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Alex Wong/Getty
He also praised Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a fierce critic of Israel’s, in front of Netanyahu, and the two made no apparent progress on a trade deal at the height of Mr. Trump’s tariff expansion.
Mr. Trump, whose policies have largely aligned with Israel’s own priorities, pledged last week to be “very firm” with Netanyahu on ending the war, without saying what that would entail. Pressure by Mr. Trump may have helped to convince Netanyahu in the past, with a previous ceasefire deal having been reached right as the president was taking office for his second term.
Netanyahu has to balance the demands of his American ally with the far-right parties in his governing coalition who hold the key to his political survival and oppose ending the war.
But given the strong U.S. support in Israel’s war against Iran, highlighted by joint airstrikes on three key Iranian nuclear sites, Netanyahu may have a tough time saying no.
When asked Monday whether he would consider another strike against Iran, Mr. Trump told reporters, “I hope we’re not going to have to do that. I can’t imagine wanting to do that.”
“They want to meet. They want to work something out,” Mr. Trump said of Iran. “They’re very different now than they were two weeks ago.”
Mr. Trump said he hoped the war between Iran and Israel is over, adding that he believes Iran wants “to make peace.”
“I’m all for it,” Mr. Trump said. “Now, if that’s not the case, we are ready, willing and able, but I don’t think we’re going to have to be.”
Netanyahu left the door open to the war resuming, telling reporters Monday that “when you remove a tumor, that doesn’t mean it can’t come back.”
On Sunday evening, Mr. Trump said one of the matters he expected to discuss with Netanyahu “is probably a permanent deal with Iran.”
Mr. Trump also may expect something in return for his recent calls for Netanyahu’s corruption trial to be canceled — a significant interference in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state.
“Trump thinks that Netanyahu owes him,” said Eytan Gilboa, an expert on U.S.-Israel affairs at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv. “And if Trump thinks that he needs to end the war In Gaza, then that is what he will need to do.”
Trump’s vision for a remade Middle East hinged on Gaza
But beyond Iran is Mr. Trump’s grand vision for a new Middle East, where he hopes that additional countries will join the Abraham Accords, a series of agreements normalizing relations between Arab countries and Israel brokered during Mr. Trump’s first term.
Netanyahu and Mr. Trump are likely to discuss how to bring Syria into the fold. The country, a longtime enemy of Israel’s, has new leadership after the fall of President Bashar Assad, and experts say conditions might be ripe for some kind of nonbelligerency agreement.
Just last week, Mr. Trump signed an executive order lifting a raft of U.S. sanctions against the Syrian government, paving the way for the nation’s new leaders — former Islamist militants who publicly embraced secularism after toppling Assad — to further cement their governance and join the international community.
“I think there’s an opportunity to explore. I think that everyone understands the situation has changed. Before that, Iran was essentially running Syria directly through Hezbollah. Hezbollah has been brought to its knees. Iran is out of the picture. So I think this presents opportunities for stability, for security and eventually for peace,” Netanyahu said Monday at the White House.
But Mr. Trump’s ultimate goal is to include regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia.
The Saudis, whose clout could open the door for other Arab or Muslim countries to join, have expressed interest in normalizing ties with Israel but only if it is accompanied by serious steps toward resolving Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians. For starters, that would seem to require action in Gaza.
“The most important thing (for Mr. Trump) is to end the war in Gaza,” Gilboa said. “That is the key to all the regional peace in the Middle East.”