Amid continuous bombardment in Gaza, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US President Donald Trump, who promised ending the war, with a plan reportedly agreed by Netanyahu and Hamas, whereby Hamas has to release remaining hostages and Israeli forces will gradually withdraw, though the plan, however, did not fall well on the extreme right-wing leaders, who wanted no end to the war until the elimination of Hamas and an extended plan of settlement in Gaza.
The meeting at the White House on Monday marked the fourth encounter between Trump and Netanyahu this year, and it took place as Israel’s nearly two-year military campaign in Gaza has left the enclave devastated, with famine and mass civilian deaths shaping the humanitarian landscape, and the discussions centred on a 21-point “day after” plan for future governance of Gaza, which was circulated among Arab and Muslim leaders during the UN General Assembly in New York last week.
The plan, according to reports, envisages the release of all remaining captives in Gaza within two days, with estimates suggesting around 20 are still alive, while Hamas fighters would either be allowed to leave Gaza or granted amnesty if they renounce resistance, and in return, humanitarian aid would flow into the enclave, some Palestinian prisoners would be released, and Israeli forces would conduct a phased withdrawal.
Although Hamas has denied receiving a fresh proposal from mediators Egypt and Qatar, it indicated willingness to consider any new offer to end the war, even as its armed wing reported losing contact with units guarding two captives in Gaza City amid Israel’s intensifying ground invasion and air strikes, which continue to claim dozens of civilian lives daily, Al Jazeera reported.
For Netanyahu, the plan presents a political dilemma, since it implicitly leaves open the possibility of a future Palestinian state and rejects forced expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, positions directly contradicting his far-right coalition partners, who favour re-establishing Israeli settlements in Gaza and encouraging Palestinian migration without right of return, and who have already condemned Trump’s proposal.
Figures such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, both residents of illegal settlements and sanctioned internationally, insist that Hamas must be eradicated before any political arrangement is considered, and they oppose any framework that stops short of annexing Gaza or extending Israeli sovereignty in the occupied West Bank, which Israel continues to expand through raids, demolitions, and settler violence.
The fragility of Netanyahu’s government adds further pressure, as his Likud-led coalition currently commands 60 seats in the Knesset, short of a majority, and relies heavily on ultra-Orthodox and far-right parties, some of which have already walked out in recent months over contentious issues such as military service exemptions, while Smotrich and Ben-Gvir’s factions hold 13 seats and could collapse the coalition if they withdraw support.
Meanwhile, Trump’s plan outlines a governance mechanism under a Gaza International Transitional Authority (GITA), reportedly drafted with input from Israel and former UK prime minister Tony Blair, which would oversee Gaza for several years through an international board of diplomats and businessmen, supported by a Palestinian technocratic authority, and protected by a multinational stabilisation force controlling borders and coastline, though Israel insists on maintaining security control.
The GITA is projected to operate with a management budget starting at $90m in the first year and rising to over $160m within three years, excluding reconstruction and aid costs, but the proposal remains provisional and would require extensive negotiations, UN approval, and agreement from all sides, making its implementation uncertain while Gaza continues to endure destruction and displacement on an unprecedented scale.