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<\/a><\/p>\nUS President Donald Trump, right and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walk inside after Netanyahu arrived at Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, Dec. 29, 2025. (Jim WATSON \/ AFP)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
While progress on the U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel in October has been slow moving, with both Israel and Hamas accusing the other of failing to uphold their end of the bargain, Trump appeared eager to find ways to speed up the peace process as he stood beside Netanyahu Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n
When asked by a reporter how quickly Trump hoped to move into phase two of the ceasefire plan, he replied \u201cas quickly as we can\u201d before stipulating that the next phase was contingent upon Hamas disarming.<\/p>\n
But later, when asked by another reporter whether the reconstruction of Gaza will begin before Hamas is disarmed, Trump replied, \u201cI think it\u2019s going to begin pretty soon,\u201d adding that he and Netanyahu were \u201clooking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLook what a mess it is, and it\u2019s been a mess for centuries, really, it\u2019s been a mess for a long time. It seems to be born for that, but we\u2019re gonna straighten it out,\u201d said Trump of the enclave. \u201cWe\u2019re already starting certain things, we\u2019re doing things for sanitary conditions and others, but Gaza is a tough place. You know the expression \u2018it\u2019s a tough neighborhood,\u2019 it\u2019s truly a tough neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n
At another press conference following the meeting, which lasted roughly two hours, Trump said that Hamas would be given \u201ca very short period of time to disarm.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they don\u2019t disarm as as they agreed to do, they agreed to it, and then they\u2019ll be held to pay for them, and we don\u2019t want that, we\u2019re not looking for that, but they have to disarm within a fairly short period of time, withdrawing its force,\u201d said Trump. Later, Trump said that the other countries who backed the ceasefire deal would \u201cwipe out Hamas\u201d if the terror group does not disarm.<\/p>\n
Following the meeting, Trump also appeared to revive his past proposal for Palestinians in Gaza to voluntarily leave the enclave, a plan that received a chorus of condemnation when he first broached the subject in February.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always said it, I said if they were given the opportunity to live in a better climate, they would move,\u201d said Trump, referring to Palestinians in Gaza. \u201cThey\u2019re there because they sort of have to be. I think it would be, I think it\u2019d be a great opportunity, but let\u2019s see if that opportunity presents itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over two months after all 20 living hostages were returned to Israel as part of the first phase of the ceasefire deal, the remains of only one deceased hostage, Ran Gvili, remain in Gaza.<\/p>\n
The next phase, which would include Israel and Hamas losing authority in Gaza and the establishment of a \u201cBoard of Peace\u201d to oversee the enclave\u2019s future, is expected to begin once Gvili is returned.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the only one left, and we\u2019re doing everything we can to get his body back,\u201d said Trump of Gvili. \u201cAnd the parents just said, hopefully he\u2019s alive. And I said I\u2019d love you to think that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Later, Trump also repeated his false claim that no hostages were released from Gaza under the Biden administration. In November 2023, 105 hostages, mainly women and children, were released during a temporary truce.<\/p>\n
Beyond pressure from Washington to initiate the next phase of the ceasefire, the pair were also expected to discuss a host of other topics, ranging from Iran\u2019s alleged nuclear capabilities to Israel\u2019s relations with Turkey and Syria.<\/p>\n
When asked whether Trump would ask Netanyahu to sign an agreement with Syria amid tensions between the two countries, Trump responded, \u201cI hope he\u2019s going to get along with Syria.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following the meeting, Trump said that the was \u201csure\u201d that Israel and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa will \u201cget along,\u201d an assertion that Netanyahu appeared to back.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur interest is to have a peaceful border with Syria,\u201d said Natanyahu. \u201cWe want to make sure that the border area right next to our border is safe. We don\u2019t have terrorists, we don\u2019t have attacks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump also appeared to respond positively when asked whether he expected Turkish forces to be stationed in Gaza, a proposal that Israel has sought to block. (Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been overtly hostile to Israel over the course of the war in Gaza.)<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a great relationship with President Erdogan, and we\u2019ll be talking about it, and if it\u2019s good, I think that\u2019s good, and a lot will be having to do with Bibi,\u201d said Trump. \u201cWe\u2019re going to be talking about that, but Turkey has been great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Later during the press conference, Trump expressed his openness to launching an assault on Iran amid reports that the gulf nation is seeking chemical and biological warheads for its ballistic missiles. In June, the United States joined Israel\u2019s conflict with Iran and bombed three sites in the country, a strike that it claimed had \u201cobliterated\u201d its nuclear capabilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I hear that Iran is trying to build up again, and if they are, we\u2019re going to have to knock them down,\u201d said Trump. \u201cWe\u2019ll knock them down. We\u2019ll knock the hell out of them, but hopefully that\u2019s not happening. I heard Iran wants to make a deal. If they want to make a deal, that\u2019s much smarter.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked by a reporter whether he sought to \u201coverthrow\u201d the Iranian regime, Trump replied, \u201cI\u2019m not going to talk about overthrow of a regime.\u201d But when asked by a reporter whether he would support an Israeli attack on Iran if the country continues to develop ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, Trump responded \u201cabsolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n
The meeting between Netanyahu and Trump also comes as Trump has called for Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Netanyahu, who currently has three legal cases open against him, on charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust.<\/p>\n
Responding to a question about the potential for a pardon, Trump claimed that Herzog had said the pardon was \u201con its way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a wartime Prime Minister who\u2019s a hero, how do you not give a pardon? You know, I think it\u2019s a very hard thing not to do it,\u201d said Trump. \u201cI spoke to the president and he tells me it\u2019s on its way. You can\u2019t do better than that, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
Following Trump\u2019s remarks, Herzog\u2019s office issued a statement stating that there had been no talks between him and Trump since the American leader wrote to Herzog advocating for a pardon in November.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has been no conversation between President Herzog and President Trump since the pardon request was submitted,\u201d Herzog\u2019s office said in a statement.<\/p>\n
At the end of the press conference, before the two leaders entered Mar-a-Lago in an embrace, Netanyahu responded to the only question posed to him: \u201cWhat makes President Trump such a strong friend to the State of Israel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Israel is very blessed to have President Trump leading the United States, and I\u2019ll say leading the free world at this time,\u201d said Netanyahu, reiterating his long-held praise for the leader. \u201cI think it\u2019s not merely Israel\u2019s great fortune. I think it\u2019s the world\u2019s great fortune.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump then took his turn at the question, telling reporters that the Israeli leader could be \u201cvery difficult on occasion.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBibi\u2019s a strong man. He can be very difficult on occasion, but you need a strong man,\u201d said Trump. \u201cIf you had a weak man, you wouldn\u2019t have Israel right now\u2026.Israel, with most other leaders, would not exist today.\u201d<\/p>\n