Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met for a second time within 24 hours at the White House to discuss a potential ceasefire in Gaza.
The unscheduled talks, lasting just over an hour with no media access, occurred amidst ongoing violence, with Israeli forces reportedly killing at least 95 Palestinians in Gaza.
This follow-up meeting came after their previous lengthy discussion during a dinner at the White House on Monday, which marked Netanyahu’s third visit to the U.S. since President Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
Prior to Tuesday’s discussions, Trump emphasized the importance of resolving the Gaza conflict, stating he would be speaking with Netanyahu “almost exclusively” about the situation.
“We gotta get that solved. Gaza is – it’s a tragedy, and he wants to get it solved, and I want to get it solved, and I think the other side wants to,” Trump said.
Meanwhile, Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, indicated that progress toward a ceasefire was imminent. He suggested that the issues preventing agreement between Israel and Hamas had been reduced from four to just one. “We are hopeful that by the end of this week, we’ll have an agreement that will bring us into a 60-day ceasefire. Ten live hostages will be released. Nine deceased will be released,” Witkoff told reporters during a cabinet meeting.
However, Netanyahu, speaking shortly afterward during a meeting with the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, reiterated that Israel’s military operations in Gaza were ongoing.
“We have still to finish the job in Gaza, release all our hostages, eliminate and destroy Hamas’s military and government capabilities,” the Israeli leader said.
