On Thursday, August 15, Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump stated that during his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in July, he urged Netanyahu to quickly end the conflict in Gaza.
Netanyahu’s office and Trump both denied a previous report by the online media outlet Axios. The report claimed that Trump and Netanyahu had discussed a Gaza ceasefire and a prisoner release agreement over the phone on Wednesday, August 14.
At a press conference, Trump said, “He (Netanyahu) knows what he’s doing, but I did encourage him to end this war as soon as possible. The war must end quickly, but we must also achieve victory and end the war. The killing must stop.”
Trump added, “But since then, I haven’t talked to him again.”
Trump was referring to the meeting he had with Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, at the end of July during Netanyahu’s visit to the US.
On the same day, Netanyahu’s office released a statement saying, “Contrary to media reports, Prime Minister Netanyahu did not speak with former President Trump yesterday.”
Axios’s report cited an anonymous source who stated that Trump’s phone call was aimed at encouraging Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire agreement, but the source also emphasized uncertainty about the validity of the information.
On May 31 of this year, US President Biden proposed a three-stage plan to end the Gaza conflict, including a ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas. Since then, mediators in Washington and the region have been trying to advance negotiations on a Gaza ceasefire in exchange for hostages, but the talks have reached an impasse.
Egypt, the US, and Qatar are scheduled to hold a new round of negotiations on a Gaza ceasefire this week.
Israel’s most important ally, Washington, has stated that a Gaza ceasefire will reduce the risk of a larger-scale war erupting in the Middle East.
Recently, Islamic terrorist organization Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran, and Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr was killed in an attack in Beirut, increasing the risk of a larger-scale war breaking out in the Middle East. Both incidents have prompted threats from Iran to retaliate against Israel.
On the morning of October 7 last year, thousands of Hamas militants launched an attack on southern Israel, resulting in approximately 1,200 deaths and around 250 people taken hostage, igniting a new round of Israel-Palestine conflict.
(Reference: Reuters)