Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump are said to have agreed to end the war in Gaza as the embattled strip’s future leadership has reportedly been decided
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu have reached an agreement to end the war in Gaza in just two weeks, it has been reported. The agreement is said to have been reached in a secret phone conversation between the two leaders following the US strike on Iran.
In the phone call, the pair agreed on a swift end to the war in Gaza as well as an expansion of the Abraham Accords, according to Israeli media citing a source ‘familiar with the conversation’. The phone call is said to have taken place between Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Netanyahu and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer. Once the war ends, Hamas leadership would be exiled and all remaining hostages held in Gaza would be freed.
It was also agreed that four Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, would be involved in governing Gaza together in place of Hamas. Another principle said to have been agreed upon is that several countries across the globe will take in residents of Gaza who wish to emigrate.
However, it is unclear how the principles would work in practice, as Hamas has vowed it will not leave the territory and Arab states have repeatedly said they would not take on a governing role. Saudi Arabia and Syria would also establish diplomatic ties with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords, with other Arab and Muslim countries to follow suit.
The agreement would also see Israel expressing support for a future two-state solution in Gaza, conditional of reforms made the Palestinian Authority. Meanwhile, Washington would recognise Israeli soverignty in some areas of the West Bank.
Israeli media outlets have said it was fears that the plan for an end to war would collapse that sparked Trump’s outrage over Israeli attacks following his announcement of a ceasefire with Iran. A source told Israel Hayom that in a conversation where Trump demanded Netanyahu ‘stop the planes’ amid the ceasefire, the President said he didn’t understand how, after having agreed on an outline for peace, Netanyahu was disrupting it over ‘a small tactical incident involving an Iranian missile’.
It comes after Donald Trump called on Israel to “pardon” Netanyahu, who is on trial for alleged corruption, or drop the case entirely. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump referred to Netanyahu as a “warrior” who has “done so much” for Israel.
He called for the trial to be “cancelled immediately” and described the case as a “witch hunt” – a term he often used to refer to his own legal battles. Trump said: “This travesty of justice cannot be allowed!”
In response to Trump’s Truth Social post, Netanyahu took to X to thank the President. He wrote: “Thank you [Donald Trump]. I was deeply moved by your heartfelt support for me and your incredible support for Israel and the Jewish people. I look forward to continuing to work with you to defeat our common enemies, liberate our hostages and quickly expand the circle of peace.”
On Sunday, Israel said it had recovered the bodies of three more hostages who had been taken by Hamas as part of the October 7 attacks that sparked the 20-month war. The Israeli military identified them as Yonatan Samerano, 21; Ofra Keidar, 70; and Shay Levinson, 19. All three were killed during the initial attack and their bodies were taken into Gaza. Kobi Samerano said in a Facebook post that his son’s remains were returned on what would have been Yonatan’s 23rd birthday.