Trump Hosts Netanyahu at White House to Push for Gaza Ceasefire Deal
WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House on Monday for a dinner meeting focused on securing a ceasefire in Gaza and advancing efforts toward a hostage-release agreement.
The high-level talks come amid renewed diplomatic momentum following a recent temporary truce between Israel and Iran. Trump expressed optimism about the prospects of a deal, stating: “I don’t think there is a hold-up. I think things are going along very well.”
Trump also said he believed Hamas was open to ending the 22-month-long war in Gaza. “They want to meet and they want to have that ceasefire,” he told reporters ahead of the meeting.
During the visit Netanyahu’s third since Trump returned to office the Israeli leader presented Trump with a letter nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. “He’s forging peace as we speak, in one country, in one region after the other,” Netanyahu said.
However, Netanyahu was less forthcoming about the prospects for broader peace with the Palestinians. He firmly ruled out the establishment of a fully sovereign Palestinian state, insisting that Israel would retain permanent security control over the Gaza Strip. “Now, people will say it’s not a complete state it’s not a state. We don’t care,” he said.
The U.S.-brokered ceasefire proposal currently under discussion includes a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of others in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, according to Palestinian sources familiar with the talks.
Negotiations are taking place in Qatar, where Israeli and Hamas representatives are holding indirect discussions with U.S. mediators. While no breakthrough has been reported, both sides are expected to continue talks this week. Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to join the Doha discussions to help finalize the deal.
The proposal also outlines conditions for a phased Israeli withdrawal, a pause in fighting during further negotiations, and the restoration of the UN-led humanitarian aid system in Gaza.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized that resolving the war in Gaza and securing the release of hostages remain Trump’s top priorities in the region. “The utmost priority for the president right now in the Middle East is to end the war in Gaza and to return all of the hostages,” she said.
Outside the White House, several dozen protesters gathered to denounce Netanyahu’s visit, accusing him of war crimes and “genocide.”
Meanwhile, violence continues on the ground. Gaza’s civil defense agency reported that Israeli forces killed at least 12 people on Monday, including six sheltering in a makeshift clinic. According to Israeli figures, 251 people were taken hostage during the October 2023 Hamas-led assault that launched the war. Of those, 49 remain in captivity, including 27 believed to be dead.
The conflict has devastated the Gaza Strip, where humanitarian conditions continue to deteriorate for more than two million residents. Since the war began, more than 57,500 Palestinians the majority of them civilians — have been killed by Israeli strikes, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The UN considers the casualty figures credible.
Hamas’s attack on southern Israel in October 2023 killed 1,219 people, also mostly civilians, according to Israeli official data.
As negotiations continue, the international community watches closely, hoping the renewed diplomatic push will bring relief to a region scarred by months of unrelenting violence.
