NAIROBI, Kenya — US President Donald Trump says ceasefire talks to end the nearly two-year Gaza war are “going along very well,” even as the latest round of negotiations wrapped without a breakthrough.
Hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on Monday, Trump surprised reporters with his optimism, hinting at Hamas’s readiness to embrace a truce.
“They want to meet and they want to have that ceasefire,” Trump said confidently at the White House, adding that he believes a deal is within reach.
His remarks came just hours after indirect ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas in Doha hit a familiar wall — no agreement, but continued hope.
The proposed US-backed ceasefire would unfold over 60 days, during which Hamas is expected to release 10 hostages alive and return the bodies of 18 more.
In exchange, Israel would free an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners and withdraw forces from areas in Gaza, where it currently maintains control over roughly two-thirds of the territory.
But big roadblocks remain. One key sticking point is the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Hamas insists it must be dismantled, while Israeli negotiators won’t even put it on the table — citing lack of authority to discuss it.
Trump, whose approach to diplomacy has often favored theatrics, appeared more direct than usual. He even told reporters, “We’ll have a deal this week,” though his ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, later played it cool.
While Trump emphasized ceasefire efforts, Netanyahu kept his focus elsewhere — reiterating Israel’s firm position on retaining security control over Gaza.
“People will say it’s not a complete state. We don’t care,” he said bluntly, suggesting Palestinian statehood remains off the table under current Israeli policy.
That wasn’t the only eyebrow-raising moment. Netanyahu presented Trump with a formal nomination letter for the Nobel Peace Prize — something the former president has openly coveted. “He’s forging peace as we speak, in one country, in one region after the other,” Netanyahu declared at their private dinner.
Though initially billed as a closed-door affair, Trump allowed some press access — a notable move for a president who thrives on media moments.
White House officials had earlier described the dinner as private, centered around the ceasefire push and the return of hostages.
But the optics outside told a different story. As Netanyahu’s convoy rolled into the White House, dozens of protesters lined the security gates, waving Palestinian flags and demanding the Israeli leader’s arrest.
Their chants weren’t without context: Netanyahu, along with former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, are subjects of International Criminal Court arrest warrants for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Netanyahu has dismissed the ICC action as antisemitic. The Trump administration, in a rare move even for them, imposed sanctions on four ICC judges, slamming the warrants as politically motivated attacks on Israel and the US.
Meanwhile, in Doha, the talks between Hamas and Israeli negotiators continue — albeit in separate rooms, under the careful eye of US envoy Steve Witkoff, who is expected to join in later this week.
This marks Netanyahu’s third White House visit since Trump returned to power nearly six months ago, but it’s their first sit-down since the US coordinated with Israel on strikes against Iranian nuclear sites and helped broker a brief Israel-Iran ceasefire.
That recent 12-day Israel-Iran flare-up, ironically, may have helped shift the momentum back toward resolving the Gaza crisis. Trump has hinted he’s open to lifting sanctions on Iran “at some point” — a potential bargaining chip in the broader regional puzzle.
Trump’s growing urgency over Gaza is evident. His White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt called ending the war his “utmost priority” and emphasized that the US president wants Hamas to say yes to the 60-day deal “right now.”
But for now, despite all the optimism and high-stakes dinners, it’s still wait-and-see. A war that has dragged on for 22 months won’t end with one meeting — even if it comes with a Nobel nomination on the side.
