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Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump at the White House earlier this year
(Photo: Saul Loeb/ AFP)
A senior Israeli official told Saudi outlet Al-Hadath that these are “critical days” for negotiations. He said Trump and Netanyahu recently held another call in which the U.S. president urged the Israeli leader to prioritize a hostage deal over continued military operations in Gaza.
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a key Netanyahu adviser and liaison to Washington, arrived in the U.S. this week for talks with senior officials, including Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff. Witkoff is expected to visit the region—potentially Cairo—if negotiations make meaningful progress.
During a visit to Shin Bet headquarters on Sunday, Netanyahu said Israel had eliminated two major existential threats and was now entering a phase of new strategic opportunities. “First and foremost, to rescue the hostages,” he said. “We will also need to resolve the Gaza issue and defeat Hamas. I believe we will accomplish both.”
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Witkoff is expected to visit the region if negotiations make meaningful progress
(Photo: Yariv Katz/ Reuters/ Evelyn Hockstein, AP/ Alex Brandon, Paulina Patimer)
Although Israeli military officials believe Hamas has suffered devastating losses—including the death of roughly half its fighting force—political sources said no breakthrough had been achieved in the ongoing talks. One of the options on the table remains a renewed and expanded military campaign to increase pressure on the militant group.
Officials in Jerusalem believe that Israel’s recent military strikes against Iranian targets have weakened Hamas’s confidence in its main patron and could shift its calculations. “Hamas is watching closely,” a political source said. “We hope this will help bring about a deal, just as past blows to Hezbollah helped lead to hostage agreements.”
