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U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu successful Florida connected Monday (December 29, 2025) for important talks connected moving to the adjacent signifier of the fragile Gaza truce plan.
The 2 leaders besides discussed Iran, with Mr. Trump saying that if Tehran rebuilt its atomic facilities the United States would "knock them down."
Mr. Trump played down reports of tensions with Netanyahu, saying that "he tin beryllium precise difficult" but that Israel "might not exist" without his enactment pursuing Hamas's October 7, 2023, attacks.
"We person astir 5 large subjects that we're discussing, and Gaza volition beryllium 1 of those," Mr. Trump told reporters astatine his Mar-a-Lago edifice up of the bilateral meeting.
Mr. Trump called again connected Hamas to disarm arsenic portion of the adjacent signifier of October's Gaza ceasefire, aft the Palestinian group's equipped helping vowed to support its weapons.
"There has to beryllium a disarming of Hamas," Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Netanyahu responded by saying that "we've ne'er had a person similar President Trump successful the White House."
The Israeli premier besides met U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth up of his talks with Trump.
The meeting, the 5th betwixt the 2 leaders to beryllium held successful the United States this year, comes arsenic immoderate White House officials fearfulness some Israel and Hamas are slow-walking the 2nd signifier of their ceasefire.
Mr. Trump is reportedly keen to denote arsenic soon arsenic January a Palestinian technocratic authorities to regenerate Hamas's regularisation successful Gaza, and the deployment of an planetary stabilization force.
Fragile ceasefire
Mr. Netanyahu's sojourn caps a frantic fewer days of planetary diplomacy successful Palm Beach, wherever Mr. Trump hosted Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy connected Sunday for talks connected ending Russia's invasion.
The Gaza ceasefire successful October is 1 of the large achievements of Mr. Trump's archetypal twelvemonth backmost successful power, but his medication and determination mediators privation to support up the momentum.
The archetypal signifier of the truce woody stipulated that Hamas merchandise the remaining hostages, some dormant and alive, taken during its 2023 onslaught connected Israel. The radical has truthful acold returned each the surviving captives and the remains of each but one.
Under the 2nd stage, Israel is expected to retreat from its positions successful Gaza, portion Hamas is expected to laic down its weapons.
An interim authorization is meant to govern the Palestinian territory, and the planetary stabilization unit (ISF) is to beryllium deployed.
Both sides, however, person alleged predominant ceasefire violations.
Hamas's equipped helping reiterated earlier connected Monday that it would not surrender its weapons.
"Our radical are defending themselves and volition not springiness up their weapons arsenic agelong arsenic the concern remains," the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said successful a video message.
'Harsher consequences'
The Axios quality outlet reported connected Friday that Trump wanted to convene the archetypal gathering of a caller Gaza "Board of Peace" that helium volition seat astatine the Davos forum successful Switzerland successful January.
But it said that elder White House officials were increasing exasperated with what they viewed arsenic efforts by Netanyahu to stall the bid process.
The Israeli and US administrations are progressively astatine likelihood connected galore cardinal issues, including Israel's continued strikes connected Hamas successful Gaza, Hezbollah successful Lebanon, and successful Syria.
On Iran, Israeli officials and media person expressed interest successful caller months that Iran is rebuilding its ballistic rocket arsenal aft it came nether onslaught during the 12-day warfare with Israel successful June.
Mr. Trump told reporters Monday helium believed Tehran wanted to marque a woody but warned it would look a repetition of US attacks connected its atomic facilities "fast" if it tried to rebuild its program.
Iran connected Monday denounced the reports arsenic a "psychological operation" against Tehran, emphasizing it was afloat prepared to support itself, and informing renewed aggression would "result successful harsher consequences" for Israel.
Mr. Trump added that helium hoped Netanyahu could "get along" with the caller president of Syria, the erstwhile commandant of an equipped Islamist rebel group, pursuing the toppling of Bashar al-Assad past year.
