President Donald Trump will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday to try and turn rising hopes into a deal to end to Israel’s offensive in Gaza and free hostages still held in the devastated Palestinian enclave.
Trump sounded optimistic in an exclusive interview with NBC News on Sunday ahead of the crucial talks.
“We’re doing very well. It looks like there is a really good chance for peace in the Middle East,” Trump said. “Everybody is on board. Everybody.”
Netanyahu’s tete-a-tete with Trump comes as Israel faces mounting global isolation and outrage, with a host of Western powers embracing Palestinian statehood in defiance of the U.S. and its close ally, while Israeli forces push ahead with a deadly assault on famine-stricken Gaza City.
Netanyahu’s government has also faced growing pressure from Trump over Israel’s actions in the Middle East, with the president warning he would not allow the country to annex the already occupied West Bank and expressing rare public frustration over the attack targeting Hamas officials in U.S. ally Qatar.
That strike, on senior leaders gathering to discuss a U.S. peace proposal in the capital of a crucial mediator, had appeared to derail negotiations. And Netanyahu vowed to “finish the job” in Gaza in his speech at the United Nations on Friday that saw dozens of delegates walk out in protest.
Still, Trump on Sunday sounded optimistic about the possibility of a truce, despite past efforts repeatedly falling short.
“We have a real chance for GREATNESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “ALL ARE ON BOARD FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL, FIRST TIME EVER. WE WILL GET IT DONE,” he said.
Trump and Netanyahu are expected to meet in the Oval Office, with a news conference to follow.
Hamas has previously said it will only release the remaining hostages held in Gaza in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and Israel’s withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave.
At least 48 hostages are believed to remain held in Gaza, of whom only 20 are believed to be alive.
On Sunday, Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, said it had lost contact with two of the prisoners being held in Gaza due to Israel’s operations in the Sabra and Tel al-Hawa neighborhoods.
It called on Israeli forces to withdraw from the area and temporarily halt air operations to allow attempts to locate the hostages.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the families of hostages, said in a statement that the families of the captives named by Hamas were working with authorities to review the militant group’s claims.
Trump said Friday that Hamas was “very much aware” of discussions around a peace plan and that Israel had also been “informed at all levels.”
Trump presented his 21-point peace plan to Arab nations last week in a meeting held on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly.
The president was left feeling more optimistic about the likelihood of an agreement because of the meeting, a White House official said, adding that some progress was made. It’s unclear, however, whether Hamas has signed off on any deal that would free all the hostages and implement a 60-day ceasefire.
The group said Sunday it had not received any new proposal since negotiations were suspended after the Israeli attack on its negotiating team in Doha.
Around 250 people were taken hostage in the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people were also killed, marking a major escalation in a decadeslong conflict.
Since then, more than 66,000 people have been killed in Gaza under Israel’s assault, including thousands of children, while much of the enclave has been destroyed.
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