TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned Sunday he’ll focus on “victory over Hamas,” countering Iran and increasing diplomatic relations with Arab nations in his assembly with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Tuesday’s assembly on the White Home will likely be Trump’s first with a international chief since returning to workplace. It comes as U.S. and Arab mediators start the daunting work of brokering the subsequent part of an settlement to wind down the struggle within the Gaza Strip and launch dozens of hostages.
Hamas, which has rapidly reasserted its management over Gaza for the reason that ceasefire took maintain final month, has mentioned it is not going to launch the hostages slated to go free within the second part with out an finish to the struggle and the total withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Netanyahu is below mounting stress from far-right governing companions to renew the struggle after the primary part ends in early March. He has mentioned Israel continues to be dedicated to victory over Hamas and the return of all of the hostages captured within the Oct. 7, 2023, assault that triggered the struggle.
It’s unclear the place Trump stands.
He has been a staunch supporter of Israel, however has additionally pledged to finish wars within the Center East and took credit score for serving to to dealer the ceasefire settlement. The deal has halted the combating and led to the discharge of 18 hostages who had been held for over 15 months, in addition to a whole lot of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
An Israeli airstrike on a automobile in central Gaza wounded 5 folks on Sunday, together with a baby who was in important situation, in keeping with Al-Awda Hospital, which obtained the casualties. The Israeli army mentioned it fired upon the automobile as a result of it was bypassing a checkpoint whereas heading north in violation of the ceasefire settlement. The army mentioned it stays dedicated to the deal.
Netanyahu embraces Trump’s name for ‘peace by energy’
In a press release launched forward of his departure on Sunday, Netanyahu mentioned they’d focus on “victory over Hamas, reaching the discharge of all our hostages and coping with the Iranian terror axis in all its elements,” referring to Iran’s alliance of teams throughout the area, together with Hamas.
He mentioned that by working collectively, they might “strengthen safety, broaden the circle of peace and obtain a exceptional period of peace by energy.”
The struggle started when Hamas stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 folks, largely civilians, and taking round 250 hostage. Over 100 hostages have been freed throughout a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023, eight have been rescued alive and dozens of our bodies have been recovered by Israeli forces.
Israel’s air and floor struggle has killed over 47,000 Palestinians, greater than half of them girls and kids, in keeping with native well being authorities who don’t say how most of the lifeless have been fighters. The struggle has left massive elements of a number of cities in ruins and displaced round 90% of Gaza’s inhabitants of two.3 million folks.
Underneath the primary part of the ceasefire settlement, Hamas is to launch a complete of 33 hostages, eight of whom Hamas says are lifeless, in change for practically 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces have pulled again from most areas and allowed a whole lot of 1000’s of Palestinians to return to devastated northern Gaza.
Negotiations on the second part, wherein the struggle would finish and the remaining 60 or so hostages could be returned, are set to start Monday. If the US, Qatar and Egypt are unable to dealer an settlement between Israel and Hamas, the struggle may resume in early March.
Aspirations for an even bigger deal
Trump’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, joined the yearlong ceasefire negotiations of their closing weeks final month and helped push the settlement over the end line. He met with Netanyahu in Israel final week and the 2 have been anticipated to formally start talks on the second part in Washington on Monday.
Trump, who brokered normalization agreements between Israel and 4 Arab nations in his first time period, is believed to be in search of a wider and probably historic settlement wherein Israel would forge ties with Saudi Arabia.
However the kingdom, which resisted related entreaties from the Biden administration, has mentioned it will solely comply with such a deal if the struggle ends and there’s a credible pathway to a Palestinian state in Gaza, the West Financial institution and east Jerusalem, territories Israel captured within the 1967 Mideast struggle.
Netanyahu’s authorities is against Palestinian statehood, and a key associate, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, has threatened to depart the governing coalition if the struggle is just not resumed subsequent month. That will increase the probability of early elections wherein Netanyahu may very well be voted out.
Violence within the West Financial institution
Even because the Gaza ceasefire has held for 2 weeks, Israel has ramped up operations within the occupied West Financial institution. On Sunday, the army mentioned it was increasing an operation centered on the risky metropolis of Jenin to the city of Tamun.
The Palestinian Well being Ministry mentioned a 73-year-old man was shot lifeless by Israeli troops in Jenin early Sunday. There was no rapid remark from the army.
The ministry had earlier reported 5 killed, together with a 16-year-old, in Israeli airstrikes in a single day.
The army mentioned it killed two fighters — certainly one of whom had been freed as a part of the weeklong Gaza ceasefire in November 2023 — in an airstrike on a village close to Jenin. It mentioned the 2 have been planning an imminent assault, and that further strikes focused two different cells.
The West Financial institution has seen a surge in violence for the reason that begin of the struggle in Gaza, with Israel launching near-daily army arrest raids. There has additionally been an increase in settler violence in opposition to Palestinians and Palestinian assaults on Israelis.
Related Press author Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.
