No word of ceasefire as Netanyahu leaves White House after 2nd meeting with Trump

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Jul 08, 2025 4:18 PM EDT | Last Updated: 33 minutes ago

U.S. President Donald Trump connected Tuesday met for a 2nd clip successful 2 days with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to sermon Gaza arsenic Trump's Middle East envoy said Israel and Hamas were closing their differences connected a ceasefire deal.

The Israeli person departed the White House connected Tuesday evening aft helium spent conscionable implicit an hour meeting with Trump successful the Oval Office, with nary media access. The 2 men besides met for respective hours during a meal astatine the White House connected Monday during Netanyahu's 3rd U.S. sojourn since the president began his 2nd word connected Jan. 20.

Netanyahu met with Vice-President JD Vance, past visited the U.S. Capitol connected Tuesday, and is owed backmost successful Congress connected Wednesday to conscionable with U.S. Senate leaders.

He told reporters aft a gathering with the Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson that portion helium did not deliberation Israel's run successful the Palestinian enclave was done, negotiators are "certainly working" connected a ceasefire.

"We person inactive to decorativeness the occupation successful Gaza, merchandise each our hostages, destruct and destruct Hamas's subject and authorities capabilities," Netanyahu said.

LISTEN | Netanyahu successful Washington to speech Gaza ceasefire:

Shortly aft Netanyahu spoke, Trump's peculiar envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said the issues keeping Israel and Hamas from agreeing had dropped from 4 to one, and added helium hoped to scope a impermanent ceasefire statement this week.

"We are hopeful that by the extremity of this week, we'll person an statement that volition bring america into a 60-day ceasefire. Ten unrecorded hostages volition beryllium released. Nine deceased volition beryllium released," Witkoff told reporters astatine a gathering of Trump's cabinet.

A delegation from Qatar, which has been hosting indirect talks betwixt Israeli officials and the Palestinian militant radical Hamas, met with elder White House officials for respective hours earlier Netanyahu's accomplishment connected Tuesday, Axios reported, citing a root acquainted with the details.

The White House had nary contiguous remark connected the report.

The warfare erupted erstwhile Hamas attacked confederate Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, sidesplitting astir 1,200 radical and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Some 50 hostages stay successful Gaza, with 20 believed to beryllium alive.

Israel's retaliatory battle on Gaza has killed much than 57,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's Health Ministry. Most of Gaza's colonisation has been displaced by the warfare and astir fractional a cardinal radical are facing famine wrong months, according to United Nations estimates.