- The White House publishes a 20 -point peace plan pushed to the American president.
- The plan calls for the truce, an exchange of hostages with Palestinian prisoners.
- Israel launched one of its largest offensives on the ground this month.
Washington / Cairo / Jerusalem: President Donald Trump said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had accepted a peace plan supported by the United States for Gaza, even though Israeli forces support one of their fiercest offensives in the battered Palestinian enclave.
The proposal requires a cease-fire and the release of the hostages, but its success still depends on the question of whether Hamas will come on board.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Netanyahu, Trump said that they were “beyond very close” to forge an elusive peace agreement and that he hoped that Hamas would also accept it.
The White House released the 20-point plan of Trump which calls for a cease-fire, an exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, an Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave, a disarmament of Hamas and a transitional government led by an international organization.
“I would also like to thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for having accepted the plan and for confidence that if we work together, we can end the death and destruction that we have seen for so many years, decades, even centuries and start a new chapter of security, peace and prosperity for the whole region,” said Trump.
During the fourth visit of Netanyahu to the White House since Trump returned in office in January, the right-wing Israeli leader was looking to consolidate the most important relationship of his country after a series of Western leaders officially kissed the Palestinian state last week in contempt of the United States and Israel.
Trump, who strongly criticized the recognition movements as a price for Hamas, asked for the Netanyahu’s agreement despite Israel’s appreciations on certain parts of the plan.
He marked an intensified diplomatic effort by the American president, who swore during the presidential campaign of 2024 to bring the conflict closer quickly and since then said that a peace agreement was close, only for it to materialize.
The apparent absence of Hamas negotiations raised questions about the prospects of the last initiative.
Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official said AFP On Monday, the group had not yet received the Trump Gaza Peace Plan.
“We have not received Trump’s proposal. We will study it and respond once we have received it,” said the manager, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly.
The tanks go deeper in the city of Gaza
Washington presented its peace plan to the Arab and Muslim states on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly last week, and Trump’s main objective was to try to fill the remaining gaps with Netanyahu.
The White House talks came while Israeli tanks pushed more deeply in the heart of Gaza City. Israel launched one of his greatest war offensives this month, Netanyahu saying that he aims to destroy Hamas in his final redouts. The war left a large part of Gaza in ruins and caused a major humanitarian crisis.
Arriving with limousine, Netanyahu was welcomed by Trump outside the doors of the White House with a handshake, a contrast that stronghold with the cold reception of the Israeli Prime Minister when he spoke Friday before the United Nations General Assembly, where dozens of delegates came out as a sign of protest.
The previous ceasefire efforts supported by the United States collapsed due to the failure to fill the gap between Israel and Hamas, and Netanyahu has promised to continue to fight until Hamas is completely dismantled.
