Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed Ben-Gurion International Airport aboard “Wing of Zion” on Sunday evening for his third in-person meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in the wake of “Operation Rising Lion” and amid talk of a possible hostages-for-ceasefire deal.
“In my conversation with President Trump, I will first of all thank him for his very strong support for Israel. We have never had such a friend in the White House,” Netanyahu told the press just before his flight.
“Our joint efforts have brought about a tremendous victory over our common enemy—Iran,” he said.
Israel feared for years whether it could stand up to Iran, and in the end, all branches of the IDF performed brilliantly, the prime minister said.
The success (intelligence assessments say that Iran’s nuclear weapons program has been knocked back several years) brings an obligation “first and foremost, to preserve the achievement—to remain vigilant against Iran’s attempts to renew its pursuit of nuclear weapons aimed at our destruction,” he said.
There’s also an opportunity “to expand the circle of peace far beyond what we ever imagined before,” he added, speaking of the Abraham Accords, the 2020 normalization agreements between Israel and four Muslim majority states.
“We have already transformed the face of the Middle East beyond recognition, and we now have the opportunity and the ability to change it even further and bring a great future to the State of Israel, the people of Israel, and the entire [region],” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister also said that Israel will not let the Gaza Strip again pose a threat, and that means “the elimination of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities. Hamas will not remain there.”
“I am committed to all three missions: the release and return of all our hostages—both living and fallen—the elimination of Hamas’s capabilities, and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel,” he said.
Netanyahu referred to the ceasefire-for-hostages deal under discussion. He said an Israeli negotiation team has been sent to Qatar with “clear instructions.”
“I believe that the conversation with President Trump can certainly help advance this outcome that we all long for,” he added.
The terror group Hamas responded to the U.S.-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal in a “positive spirit” on Friday.
However, Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office said on Saturday night, “The changes that Hamas is seeking to make in the Qatari proposal were conveyed to us last night and are unacceptable to Israel.”
Netanyahu said before his flight that Israel still has a job to complete in Gaza. “To date, we have freed 205 out of 255 hostages, including 148 alive. Twenty living hostages remain, and 30 are deceased. I am determined—and we are all determined—to bring them all back.”