PM Netanyahu set to visit White House next week amid critical discussions over future of Gaza War

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House in Washington, D.C. on July 7, for his third meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump this year, Israeli and U.S. officials told media outlets.

The trip will come exactly two weeks after Israel and Iran agreed to a U.S.-mediated ceasefire to stop a 12-day Israeli air campaign, which was topped off by U.S. strikes that destroyed the Iranian nuclear program.

Netanyahu’s visit is expected to see a victory lap by the two leaders but will also include serious discussions on a range of simmering issues.

A U.S. official told The Times of Israel that Gaza and Iran would be the main issues and emphasized that President Trump is keen on ending the war and releasing the remaining Israeli hostages.

The success of a larger, highly ambitious plan, on which the two administrations reportedly agreed in principle, hinges on the future of the Gaza War.

Strategic Affairs Minister and close Netanyahu aide, Ron Dermer, already traveled to Washington several days ago and is meeting with top officials for preparatory discussions.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized Trump’s desire to end the war in a recent statement, adding he was in constant communication with Israeli leaders over the issue.

“It’s heartbreaking to see the images that have come out from both Israel and Gaza throughout this war, and the president wants to see it end,” Leavitt said.

While in the U.S., Dermer is trying to “to press the Americans to press the Qataris to press Hamas” to agree on more concessions in the talks that have reportedly not progressed significantly, despite the pressure.

“Qatar is the key,” an official in Netanyahu’s office told the Times of Israel. “We are hoping that there will be a breakthrough very soon. It depends on Hamas.”

Meanwhile, Israel is trying to advance its military operations in the enclave, the official added. “We are continuing to progress and deepen the ground maneuver, to pressure Hamas until it agrees to a deal or until we defeat it.”

Another Israeli official told Ynet News, “We are still far from a hostage deal. We hope that Dermer will succeed in building something with the Americans.”

While Dermer and Netanyahu are subject to American pressure to end the war, there is still no unified position within the government.

A meeting on Monday evening, involving top aides and ministers convened by Netanyahu, again produced controversial discussions, but no agreement.

Another meeting is scheduled for Thursday, an anonymous source told the Times.

According to leaked comments from the meetings, the Israel Defense Forces now hold between 50% and 75% of the territory in Gaza. Continuing the military operations would lead to complete Israeli control, which could necessitate the imposition of a temporary military government, which the IDF top brass has consistently rejected.

An Israeli official told Ynet News, “Occupying Gaza could endanger the hostages, and there is also disagreement on the issue at the political level.”

The Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir reportedly warned that continuing the operations in the last unoccupied areas could endanger the hostages: “There is a clash between the hostages and the continuation of the maneuver. We may endanger the hostages,” Zamir said, according to leaked quotes from the closed door meetings.

“There is more severe abuse of the hostages. Their situation is very difficult,” he added.

Further complicating things, as ever, is the obstinate refusal of any compromise by Hamas.

Sources in the terror group told Ynet News that under heavy pressure from Egypt, Qatar, and the U.S. on the Hamas leadership, “the movement has returned to discussing Witkoff's ceasefire plan for a temporary agreement, which will last 60 days.”

They added that there were only minor changes to the “Witkoff outline,” including agreement to a ceasefire while negotiations over subsequent phases continue; a massive influx of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip during the ceasefire period; and local changes to IDF deployment to reduce friction with the local population.

However, senior Hamas official Taher al-Nounou told the Egyptian newspaper Al-Sharq that no in-person meeting with negotiators is currently scheduled but added that contacts with the mediators still continued.

Al-Nounou also reiterated his group’s opposition to disarmament or the exile of senior leaders.