The meeting comes as a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas nears completion.
WASHINGTON—U.S. President Donald Trump is hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on July 8 for a second consecutive day. Trump said the meeting would focus exclusively on the situation in Gaza, as a cease-fire agreement between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group nears completion.
The deal is expected to include the release of 10 additional Israeli hostages and the return of the remains of nine deceased hostages.
Trump announced his plan to meet with Netanyahu during his Cabinet meeting on the morning of July 8.
“He’s going to come over again tonight,” Trump told reporters, adding that both leaders would discuss “almost exclusively, Gaza.”
“It’s a tragedy, and he wants to get it solved, and I want to get it solved, and I think the other side wants to get it solved,” Trump said.
Speaking at the cabinet meeting, Steve Witkoff, special envoy for the Middle East, said that both sides expect to reach an agreement by the end of this week, praising the progress made in the last two days.
“We had four issues, and now we’re down to one after two days of proximity talks,” Witkoff said.
As part of the proposed agreement, 10 hostages who are still alive will be released, along with the remains of nine others who have died in Hamas captivity, he added.
The latest meeting marks the fourth between Trump and Netanyahu this year and comes as the United States works to broker another round of a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas. The meeting is being held behind closed doors with no media presence or public remarks.
The latest U.S.-brokered proposal, backed by Israel, was recently submitted to Hamas by mediators, but the terrorist group has yet to accept it.
More than 50 hostages are believed to still be in captivity in Gaza. Before leaving for Washington, Netanyahu said that 20 of them were still alive.
During a dinner meeting on July 7, both leaders discussed Gaza, Iran, and expanding the Abraham Accords.
By Emel Akan
