Netanyahu to meet Trump as US pushes Gaza ceasefire plan

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, as Washington pushes an ambitious plan to end the war in Gaza.

The conflict, which marks its second anniversary next week, has killed about 66,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The White House meeting comes after Trump shared a 21-point proposal with regional leaders during last week’s UN gathering in New York. “We have a real chance for greatness in the Middle East,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account Sunday. “All are on board for something special, first time ever. We will get it done.”

Reports suggest the plan includes Hamas releasing all 48 hostages — living and dead — within 48 hours, in return for a halt to Israeli military operations and a gradual withdrawal of troops. In exchange, Israel would release Palestinian prisoners and allow more aid into Gaza. Hamas would disarm, withdraw from governing Gaza, and accept a transitional administration alongside programs to deradicalise schools and mosques.

Israeli officials have refused to confirm these details.

One senior official, speaking anonymously, dismissed parts of the reported plan as “fake trial balloons.” Hamas, for its part, said it has not yet seen the proposal. Israel also said it would comment only after the Netanyahu-Trump meeting.

The senior Israeli official who briefed US editors listed five conditions for ending the war: Hamas must disarm, all hostages must be returned, Gaza must be demilitarised, Israel must oversee security, and a governing authority must be formed that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority. These demands clash with Hamas’s position, which calls for full Israeli withdrawal and no disarmament.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces intensified their assault on Gaza City, the territory’s de facto capital. Ground troops pushed deeper on Sunday evening, reaching within one kilometer of the city’s main hospital, according to witnesses and social-media footage. Tanks and military vehicles were seen in central neighborhoods. Israel says it is targeting Hamas infrastructure, destroying high-rises used for equipment and tunnels. The offensive has already displaced 700,000 of the city’s 1 million residents.

Gazans now face dire conditions. The UN declared famine in parts of the strip last month, with shortages of food and medicine compounding the humanitarian crisis.

The conflict began after Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 250. Israel says Hamas, backed by Iran, is committed to its destruction and must be eliminated. Much of the international community, however, has condemned Israel’s response as disproportionate.

At last week’s UN General Assembly, ten countries, including France, the UK, and Canada, joined the majority of member states in recognising Palestine as a state and criticising Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank. In total, 159 nations now back Palestinian statehood. Israel and the US strongly opposed the recognition, calling it a reward for terrorism.

Israel’s political stance has hardened in recent years. Netanyahu’s coalition, which includes settler nationalists, supports annexing Gaza and the West Bank, home to 600,000 Israeli settlers and 3 million Palestinians. Trump, however, has said he will not allow annexation of the West Bank. Israeli officials declined to comment, though some ministers have publicly called for it.

Among those helping to shape the US peace plan are former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, US envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.