U.S. President Donald Trump (right) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a joint press conference at the White House in Washington D.C., February 4, 2025. (Liri Agami/Flash90)
Trump put forward a proposal that would liberate all of the captives and send Hamas leaders into exile.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
Ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the White House next week, US President Donald Trump said that he will take a “firm stance” with the premier about ending the war in Gaza.
Speaking to reporters while touring a migrant detention center in Florida, Trump said he hopes to end the 21-month conflict “sometime next week.”
Last week, the president predicted that a hostage release and ceasefire deal would be reached this week.
Trump also told reporters that Netanyahu “wants to end the war.”
On Sunday, Trump put forward a proposal that would liberate all of the captives and send Hamas leaders into exile. “We’re confident a deal can be reached,” a US official told The Jerusalem Post.
The official indicated that 75% of the issues have been worked out and that the remaining 25% concern the humanitarian situation affecting Gazan civilians, how the war will be concluded, and measures to prevent Hamas from re-arming.
Trump said that Netanyahu’s visit, scheduled to begin on July 7, is, in part, a celebration of the successful joint US and Israeli military campaign against Iran’s nuclear facilities that were badly damaged by airstrikes.
Praising the US pilots who executed the attacks on Iran’s three crucial nuclear facilities, Trump said, “We should celebrate these heroes.”
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer departed Monday for the US for high-level meetings in Washington. He is expected to meet with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and White House special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
News of Netanyahu’s planned visit follows reports that the Pentagon has approved over $500 million in new weapons sales to Israel.
Over the weekend, Trump reaffirmed his backing of Netanyahu, calling the Israeli leader a war hero and denouncing the corruption trial against him, which he claimed is disrupting efforts to negotiate peace.
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