Trump to be 'very firm' with Netanyahu on Gaza ceasefire in upcoming White House talks

US President Donald Trump vowed Tuesday to be “very firm” in his stance on ending the war in Gaza when he meets next week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The remarks by the president, made during a tour of a migrant detention center in Florida, came after he said earlier that he was hoping for a truce in the nearly 21-month conflict by “sometime next week.”

The Republican leader is set to host Netanyahu at the White House on July 7 and the swift resolution of Israel’s 12-day war with Iran has revived hopes for a halt to the Gaza fighting.

Almost relentless combat in the Palestinian territory since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel has created dire humanitarian conditions for the population of more than two million.

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Trump was asked Tuesday by reporters if a ceasefire could be in place before Netanyahu’s visit.

“We hope it’s going to happen, and we’re looking for it to happen sometime next week,” he said before departing for Florida.

Trump has previously urged Israel to “make the deal in Gaza,” but on the ground, Israel has continued to pursue its offensive across the Palestinian territory.

The end of Israel’s 12-day war with Iran – which followed a US bombing mission on Tehran’s nuclear sites – has provided a window of opportunity for a deal, with Trump keen to add another peace agreement to a series of recent deals he has brokered.

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Asked at the detention center how firm he will be with Netanyahu on ending the war, Trump replied: “Very firm.”

“But he wants it too…. He wants to end it too,” Trump added.

The visit next Monday will be Netanyahu’s third since Trump returned to power in January, and comes on the heels of the US president making a rare intervention into domestic Israeli politics.

Trump appeared over the weekend to threaten US aid to Israel as he called in a social media post for prosecutors to drop long-running corruption charges against Netanyahu.

Netanyahu became the first foreign leader to visit Trump in his second term in February, when the US president surprised him by suddenly announcing a plan for the United States to “take over” Gaza.

The Israeli premier visited again in April.