
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for the presidency, had a phone conversation on Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. The discussion, according to two U.S. sources informed about the call, focused on the ongoing situation involving hostages in Gaza and a potential ceasefire agreement. Barak Ravid of Axios reported these details.
This conversation occurred just a day before a significant summit in Doha, scheduled for today. The meeting will bring together senior officials from the U.S., Qatar, Egypt, and Israel in an attempt to bridge the remaining differences between Israel and Hamas.
In a statement last week, the leaders of the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar urged Israel and Hamas to convene a summit aimed at finalizing the deal. Israel agreed to participate in this summit, but Hamas declared on Sunday that it would not send any representatives to the negotiations.
The upcoming discussions are anticipated to center on a three-phase plan for a ceasefire and hostage release, a proposal originally outlined by President Joe Biden in late May.
One of the sources mentioned to Axios that Trump’s intention in Wednesday’s call was to persuade Netanyahu to accept the deal, though the source emphasized that it was unclear whether Trump explicitly conveyed this message to Netanyahu.
The Prime Minister’s Office did not refute the occurrence of the call. Meanwhile, the Trump campaign opted not to comment on the matter.
Last month, Trump hosted Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago resort during Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, which also included his speech to Congress and meetings with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. During their discussion, Trump expressed concern over the difficult situation with the hostages and emphasized the urgency of securing their release.
Earlier, during his address at the Republican National Convention, Trump urged Hamas to release the hostages before his potential return to office, warning, “or you will be paying a very big price.”
{Matzav.com}