United States President Donald Trump plans to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Jul 7, a US official said, as the US president pressed for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and the return of remaining hostages.

Ron Dermer, a top adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is in Washington this week to meet with officials at the White House, Trump’s spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a press briefing on Monday (Jun 30).

An Israeli official in Washington also confirmed the meeting next Monday. The two leaders are expected to discuss Iran, Gaza, Syria and other regional challenges, the official added.

The visit was first reported by Axios.

Israel ramped up its attacks on northern Gaza on Monday, a day after Trump urged an end to the 20-month-old war, posting on social media: “Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back”.

Israeli strikes killed at least 60 people across Gaza on Monday in some of the heaviest attacks in weeks.

Leavitt told reporters the Trump administration was in constant communication with the Israeli government, saying Trump viewed ending the war in Gaza and returning remaining hostages held by the Palestinian militant group Hamas as a top priority.

She said it was heartbreaking to see images coming from both Gaza and Israel, but Trump’s main priority was securing the release of the remaining hostages.

The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took 251 hostages back to Gaza in a surprise attack that led to Israel’s single deadliest day.

Israel’s subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry, displaced almost the entire 2.3 million population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis.

Source: Reuters
--Agencies