Israeli prime minister in Washington for Gaza ceasefire talks

by Didier Lauras and Chloe Rouveyrolles-Bazire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to begin talks Monday on a second phase of the ceasefire with Hamas as he visits the new Trump administration in Washington.

Before departing, Netanyahu told reporters he would discuss "victory over Hamas", countering Iran and freeing all hostages when he meets President Donald Trump on Tuesday.

It will be Trump's first meeting with a foreign leader since returning to the White House in January, a prioritisation Netanyahu called "telling".

"I think it's a testimony to the strength of the Israeli-American alliance," he said before boarding his flight.

With fragile ceasefires holding in both Gaza and Lebanon -- where an Israeli campaign badly weakened Iran-backed Hezbollah -- Israel has recently turned its focus to the occupied West Bank, where an operation it says is aimed at rooting out extremism has killed dozens.

Netanyahu said Israel's wartime decisions had reshaped the Middle East and that with Trump's support, this could go even further.

"I believe that working closely with President Trump, we can redraw it (Middle East's map) even further and for the better."

Trump, who has claimed credit for sealing the ceasefire deal after 15 months of war, said Sunday that negotiations with Israel and other countries in the Middle East were "progressing".

"Bibi Netanyahu's coming on Tuesday, and I think we have some very big meetings scheduled," Trump said.

Netanyahu's office said he would begin discussions with Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on Monday over terms for the second phase of the Gaza truce.

The next stage is expected to cover the release of the remaining captives and include discussions on a more permanent end to the war.

Trump has repeatedly touted a plan to "clean out" Gaza, calling for Palestinians to move to neighbouring countries such as Egypt or Jordan.

Qatar, which jointly mediated the ceasefire along with the United States and Egypt, underscored the importance of allowing Palestinians to "return to their homes and land".

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, meanwhile, warned Monday that relocating Gazans "would be tantamount to ethnic cleansing".

- Saudi angle -

Under the Gaza ceasefire's first, 42-day phase, Hamas is to free 33 hostages in staggered releases in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

Four hostage-prisoner exchanges have already taken place, and the truce has led to a surge of food, fuel, medical and other aid into rubble-strewn Gaza.

During their October 7, 2023 attack, Hamas militants took 251 hostages, 91 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military has confirmed are dead.

The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Israel's retaliatory response has killed at least 47,283 people in Gaza, a majority civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, figures which the UN considers reliable.

While Trump's predecessor Joe Biden sustained Washington's military and diplomatic backing of Israel, it also distanced itself from the mounting death toll and aid restrictions.

Trump moved quickly to reset relations.

In one of his first acts back in office, he lifted sanctions on Israeli settlers accused of violence against Palestinians and reportedly approved a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs that the Biden administration had blocked.

The ceasefire discussions in Washington are expected to also cover concessions Netanyahu must accept to revive normalisation efforts with Saudi Arabia after Riyadh froze discussions early in the Gaza war.

Turkey could take in some Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel under the terms of its ceasefire deal with Hamas, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says during a visit to Qatar.

Trump believes "that he must stabilise the region first and create an anti-Iran coalition with his strategic partners", including Israel and Saudi Arabia, said David Khalfa, a researcher at the Jean Jaures Foundation in Paris.

- Jenin operation -

On the ground, Israel said Sunday it has killed at least 50 militants and detained more than 100 "wanted individuals" during its ongoing operation in the West Bank.

The offensive began on January 21, with the Israeli military saying it aimed to root out Palestinian armed groups from the Jenin area, which has long been a hotbed of militancy.

On Sunday, Palestinian official news agency WAFA said Israeli forces "simultaneously detonated about 20 buildings" in the eastern part of Jenin refugee camp, adding that the "explosions were heard throughout Jenin city and parts of the neighbouring towns".

Violence has surged across the West Bank since the Gaza war broke out in October 2023.

Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 883 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the war, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

At least 30 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military raids in the territory over the same period, according to Israeli official figures.

© Agence France-Presse