Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that in his upcoming meeting with President Donald Trump, he will discuss what he called a “victory over Hamas,” the fight against Iran, and the expansion of diplomatic relations with Arab countries. The meeting, scheduled for Tuesday at the White House, will be the first visit by a foreign leader since President Trump took office.
The meeting between the two leaders comes at a time when American and Arab negotiators begin work on mediating the next phase of an agreement to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of dozens of hostages held by militants.
Hamas, which has acted quickly to regain control of Gaza since the ceasefire was reached last month, has stated that it will not release many of the remaining hostages until the war is brought to an end.
Netanyahu is under pressure from his hardline coalition partners to resume the fighting after the first phase of the agreement concludes in early March.
He has declared that Israel remains committed to defeating Hamas and to securing the return of all those taken hostage during the militant attack on October 7, 2023, which sparked the conflict.
It is unclear what President Trump’s stance will be.
Trump has been a strong supporter of Israel but has also promised to end the war in the Middle East, taking credit for helping broker the ceasefire agreement. Following the agreement, which ended the fighting, the release of 18 hostages who had been held in Gaza for over 15 months became possible, along with the release of hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. /VOA
