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US President Donald Trump and Israeli PM Netanyahu met again at the White House, signalling progress on a potential Gaza ceasefire. Netanyahu said Israel remains committed to defeating Hamas and freeing hostages.
UPDATED: Jul 9, 2025 03:20 IST
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held their second meeting in two days on Tuesday to discuss Gaza, as Trump's Middle East envoy indicated progress toward a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Netanyahu arrived at the White House around 5 p.m. EDT for a private discussion. The two men met for several hours during a dinner at the White House on Monday. This marked Netanyahu's third US visit since Trump's second term began on January 20.
Earlier on Tuesday, Netanyahu met with Vice President JD Vance and visited the US Capitol. He told reporters after meeting House Speaker Mike Johnson that while Israel's Gaza campaign was not yet complete, ceasefire negotiations were "certainly working."
Netanyahu stated, "We still have to finish the job in Gaza, release all our hostages, eliminate and destroy Hamas' military and government capabilities." His return to the White House on Tuesday rescheduled his meeting with US Senate leaders to Wednesday.
Netanyahu said that Israeli troops “fought like lions” in military strikes on Iran and thanked American support.
The Israeli prime minister added that throughout Israel’s history, there has “never been the degree of coordination, of cooperation and trust between America and Israel as we have today.”
He added that “it may be very likely” that he and Trump will meet again during his next trip. “This is having a great change in our region. There are opportunities for peace that we intend to realise. We’re working together on this,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister said Israel was “closer” to a ceasefire deal with Hamas but declined to offer details about talks. “We’re certainly working on it,” Netanyahu said of a ceasefire deal and negotiations to free Israeli hostages in Gaza.
Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said the issues keeping Israel and Hamas from agreeing had dropped to one from four, and he hoped to reach a temporary ceasefire agreement this week. "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 at a meeting of Trump's Cabinet.
The Gaza war erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive.
Israel's retaliatory war in Gaza has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health ministry.
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(Inputs from Agencies)
Published By:
Aashish Vashistha
Published On:
Jul 9, 2025
