Report: Netanyahu agreed to end Gaza war after US strike on Iran
Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu agreed on a rapid end to the war in Gaza during a phone call after the US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites, Israeli media has reported quoting a source 'familiar with the conversation'. The two leaders agreed that four Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates and Egypt , would jointly govern the strip in place of Hamas , Israel Hayom is reporting. Leaders of the Hamas terror group would be exiled and all hostages released, a source is said to have told the outlet.
But it remains unclear how such a proposal would be implemented, with Hamas vowing it will not leave the territory and Arab states repeatedly asserting that they would not step into a governing role. Trump and Netanyahu held the call on Monday a day after US bombers hit nuclear targets in Iran , with a source reportedly describing the call as 'euphoric'. They were joined on the call by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, according to the report.
Under the agreement, Palestinians who wished to leave Gaza would be taken in by unnamed states, the men reportedly said, and Saudi Arabia and Syria would establish diplomatic ties with Israel. Israel in turn would express support for a future two-state solution on the condition that the Palestinian Authority bring in reforms, according to the report. The United States would recognise Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank as part of the agreement, it also said.
Israel Hayom reports that the 'ambitious' nature of the plan explains Trump's fury over Israel's planned retaliation against Iran for its 'minor' breach of the US-brokered ceasefire on Tuesday. Trump called the Israeli prime minister and warned him to 'stop the planes', reportedly telling him he did not understand why Netanyahu was 'disrupting' their agreed upon 'plan for peace' because of a 'small tactical incident'. The outlet also claims that Trump's post calling for an end to Netanyahu's trial was also linked to the plan.
The Mail has contacted the White House for comment regarding the report. It comes as Trump has received praise from world leaders for his part in ending the 12-day conflict, with suggestions that the bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities forced Tehran to the negotiating table. Among those who commended him was Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who spoke to reporters as he departed from the NATO summit.
'I told Trump that, referring to his efforts in the Israel-Iran ceasefire, the same level of effort is expected to help end the conflicts in Gaza as well as in the Russia-Ukraine war,' Erdogan said. In March, the US and Israel rejected an Arab plan for the post-war reconstruction of Gaza, which was designed to allow the 2.1 million Palestinians living in the Strip to remain. The proposal was backed by Arab leaders at a summit in Cairo, and was drawn up as an alternative to Trump's suggestion for the US to take over Gaza and permanently resettle its population.
Trump suggested that the US could 'own' Gaza and turn it into the 'Riviera of the Middle East'. His suggestion was deemed 'unacceptable' by the Arab League and sparked outrage across the world, with many condemning it as amounting to the forced displacement of Palestinians from their homes. 'This is against international law and, we have said this time and again, this is not a way to treat this man-made crisis,' Assistant Secretary General of the Arab League, Hossam Zaki, told the BBC.
The UN estimates that more than 1.9 million people have been internally displaced in Gaza amid Israel's unrelenting bombardment of the territory, which has been ongoing for more than 600 days. The war in Gaza began when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing nearly 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 others hostage into Gaza. In response, Israel launched a military campaign that has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, according to local health authorities in Gaza.
At least 118 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since Wednesday, local health authorities said, including some shot near an aid distribution point, the latest in a series of such incidents. Twenty hostages remain in captivity in Gaza, while Hamas is also holding the bodies of 30 who have died. Israel this afternoon announced that it has stopped aid entering Gaza for two days to prevent it being seized by Hamas.
Images have been circulated of masked men on aid trucks. Clan leaders have said these individuals were protecting aid, and are not Hamas stealing it from civilians. Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer later told reporters that aid was still entering Gaza from the south, but did not specify whether any supplies were entering the north. A United Nations source said that all aid that was due to enter northern Gaza had been put on hold.
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