At a critical juncture for the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on his way to Washington on Sunday for discussions with President Trump and other top administration officials this week.
Since the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel sparked a horrific 15-month battle in Gaza that subsequently spilled to Lebanon, Mr. Trump has made it plain that he wants the Middle East crises to cease. Several times on Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu said “peace” before he boarded his aircraft.
“The Middle East has already changed as a result of the decisions we made during the war,” Mr. Netanyahu stated. “I think we can use strength to achieve a remarkable era of peace, expand the circle of peace, and strengthen security,” he continued.
Since his inauguration last month, Mr. Netanyahu is anticipated to be the first foreign leader to meet with Mr. Trump. A number of important regional concerns are anticipated to be the subject of formative talks between the Israeli leader and the Trump administration.
The second phase of the cease-fire agreement for Gaza, which would see the release of all the hostages still held there and transform the temporary truce that went into effect on January 19 into a more permanent halt in hostilities between Israel and Hamas, is scheduled to begin negotiations on Monday.
Days of peace in the Palestinian enclave were broken Sunday when an Israeli aircraft opened fire on a truck in Gaza that the military said was moving north over an unapproved route rather than the agreed inspection route, demonstrating the precariousness of the situation on the ground. No deaths were immediately reported by Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
Additionally, the Israeli troops and Hezbollah are expected to have left the southern region of Lebanon by February 18, the end of the trial phase of a cease-fire mediated by the United States.
The agenda still includes broad concerns about the Middle East’s future. Reducing Iran’s nuclear aspirations and backing for military proxies on Israel’s borders are two of them.
From the tarmac on Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu stated that “victory over Hamas, achieving the release of all our hostages, and dealing with the Iranian terror axis in all its components” are among the topics that would be discussed with Mr. Trump.
According to his office, Mr. Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Mr. Trump on Tuesday and with Mr. Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, on Monday.
According to a statement from Mr. Netanyahu’s office, Mr. Witkoff will be a key player in shuttle diplomacy. Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Witkoff spoke over the phone on Saturday and decided to begin the second phase of the Gaza accord discussions at their meeting on Monday.
The White House and Mr. Witkoff, who was instrumental in negotiating the first six-week phase of the cease-fire agreement for Gaza, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Mr. Trump coordinated with Biden administration officials and Qatar and Egypt, the two primary mediators between Israel and Hamas, in the days prior to his inauguration.
On Sunday, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the prime minister of Qatar, stated during a press conference in Doha that his administration will “keep working with our partners in the United States and the Arab Republic of Egypt to ensure the full implementation of this agreement.”
Israel and Gaza are feeling more optimistic about the first phase of the cease-fire, which coincides with Mr. Netanyahu’s travel to Washington. In the last two weeks, 13 Israeli hostages have been freed in return for hundreds of Palestinian detainees and inmates. Keith Siegal, a 65-year-old dual American-Israeli national, was one of the hostages freed on Saturday.
After months of work by the Biden administration, many of the relatives of the freed hostages have expressed gratitude to Mr. Trump and his staff for completing the long-awaited agreement.
However, there are still unanswered questions about the following stage. Publicly and repeatedly, Mr. Netanyahu has pledged to eliminate Hamas’s governmental and military powers while maintaining the option to resume hostilities.
