ahead of his upcoming meeting with Trump at the White House, Netanyahu noted the killing of five Israeli soldiers in an ambush carried out by the Qassam Brigades in the city of Beit Hanoun, north of the Gaza Strip.
He said, "We are determined to complete the objectives of the war in Gaza, which are: freeing the kidnapped soldiers, eliminating Hamas's military and political capabilities, and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel."
Tel Aviv estimates that there are 50 Israeli prisoners in Gaza, 20 of whom are still alive. Meanwhile, more than 10,800 Palestinians are languishing in its prisons, suffering torture, starvation, and medical neglect, many of whom have died, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.
Israel continues its war on Gaza, while indirect negotiations hosted by Qatar between Tel Aviv and Hamas aim to reach a prisoner exchange and ceasefire deal.
The Hebrew newspaper Haaretz reported, citing US envoy Steve Witkoff, that the negotiations have overcome three of the four points of disagreement, with only one remaining. Witkoff expressed hope that an agreement would be reached by the end of the week, including a 60-day truce.
Late Tuesday evening, Netanyahu arrived at the White House to meet with Trump, their second meeting within 24 hours.
Trump said before the meeting with Netanyahu: "We will talk almost exclusively about Gaza. We have to solve this problem." He added: "Gaza is a tragedy. He (Netanyahu) wants to solve it, I want to solve it, and I think the other side (Hamas) wants to solve it too," according to the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.
Netanyahu is visiting Washington from Sunday to Thursday. This is his third visit in six months, and the visit is significant because it comes after Trump announced an "imminent agreement" regarding Gaza.
On Friday evening, Hamas said it had submitted its response to the ceasefire proposal to the mediators after completing internal consultations with Palestinian factions and forces. Hamas described its response to the proposal as "positive" and affirmed its "serious readiness to immediately enter into a round of negotiations on the mechanism for implementing" the proposal.
The official sources concerned did not discuss the details of the proposal, but Hebrew media, including Haaretz, said that its most prominent provisions include Hamas releasing half of the living Israeli detainees (10), in addition to the bodies of 18 detainees in 5 stages during a ceasefire that will last for 60 days.
According to the Hebrew newspaper, the proposal includes the release of eight live Israeli detainees on the first day of the agreement's entry into force, and two more on the fiftieth day. It also includes the handover of five bodies of Israeli detainees on the seventh day, five bodies on the thirtieth day, and eight bodies on the sixtieth day.
In return, Israel will release a large number of Palestinian prisoners it is holding and gradually withdraw its forces from agreed-upon areas within Gaza. This clause could be a point of contention for Tel Aviv, which is demanding the disarmament of Hamas and the exile of its leaders abroad.
According to the proposal, US President Trump would be a guarantor of negotiations to end the war, according to the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.
The newspaper said there is one unresolved disagreement in the negotiations, concerning the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Tel Aviv insists on remaining in the Morag axis between Khan Yunis and Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, while Hamas demands a complete withdrawal.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a war of genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.
The genocide, backed by the United States, left more than 194,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing. Hundreds of thousands were displaced, and a famine claimed the lives of many, including dozens of children.
