While Donald Trump is skipping a visit to Israel during his ongoing Mideast travels, the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza has been a significant part of discussions, as the US president dismissed claims that the Jewish state is being sidelined by his trip.
“This is good for Israel,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, in response to a question about skipping a stop in Israel. “Having a relationship like I have with these countries… I think it’s very good for Israel.”
The US president added that the White House might deserve “the most credit” for the release on Monday from Gaza of Israeli-US hostage Edan Alexander, and said if it weren’t for the US, “probably none of the hostages would be living right now.”
Asked aboard the flight whether Israel deserves any credit for the release of Alexander, Trump said: “Well, they’ve been fighting a long time, they’re warring, and I think they deserve a lot of credit.
“I think my people deserve a lot of credit. Maybe the most credit,” he added. “Look, [Alexander] wouldn’t be there. If it weren’t for us, he wouldn’t be living right now. Probably none of the hostages would be living right now. We probably have 20 that are living, that we’ll be getting out step by step.”
Alexander was released Monday from Gaza in what was described as a goodwill gesture from the Palestinian terror group Hamas to Trump ahead of the US president’s visit to the region.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Wednesday afternoon that the premier held a series of lengthy discussions with Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and the Israeli hostage negotiating team, which Witkoff has joined in Doha.
Witkoff, who headed from Tel Aviv to Doha on Tuesday, arriving shortly before Trump landed there, met with senior Qatari officials in the presence of families of hostages being held in Gaza, according to Al Jazeera, which said the meeting lasted two and a half hours.
Netanyahu agreed to send a delegation to Doha after speaking with Trump on Monday and meeting with Witkoff and US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, stressing at the time that “the negotiations will take place only under fire.”
Speaking in Riyadh earlier Wednesday, Trump told Gulf leaders that he hopes for the “future of safety and dignity of the Palestinian people” in Gaza, but that it cannot happen under Hamas, who “delight in raping, torturing and murdering innocent people.”
Attending a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council in the Saudi capital, Trump said he “greatly appreciates” the role of the Gulf countries in trying to “bring this terrible conflict to an end, including securing the release of American hostage Edan Alexander.”
“We thought Edan was dead,” he said, adding that “ultimately, all hostages of all nationalities must be released as a stepping stone to peace.”
Speaking to journalists after the Gulf summit, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud declared that the US and Saudi Arabia “agree to end the war in Gaza and release all hostages.”
He said the US administration is willing to make “very courageous decisions” to push toward a ceasefire in Gaza, and “open up pathways to resolving the broader issues of Palestine,” including “moving toward, one hopes, a Palestinian state,” according to a New York Times report.
The US did not issue a similar statement in regards to any agreements reached with the Saudis about the war in Gaza.
Al-Saud also said: “We need to reach a ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible,” adding that “without a ceasefire in Gaza, it would be difficult to supply aid” to the enclave.
Israel has threatened to launch its major military operation in Gaza once Trump leaves the Mideast on Friday if Hamas doesn’t agree to a hostage deal by then.
Netanyahu told his coalition partners on Monday that despite sending a negotiating team to Doha, his position hasn’t changed. The negotiators only have a mandate to discuss what the premier has referred to as the “Witkoff proposal,” which would see as many as half of the hostages released in exchange for a weekslong ceasefire. During that truce, Israel is prepared to hold talks regarding a permanent end to the war, but will accept nothing less than Hamas agreeing to disarm and give up governing control of Gaza.
Hamas has said it is prepared to cede control of the Strip and agree to a yearslong truce with Israel that includes security guarantees. However, it has long refused demands that it permanently disarm.
It has also demanded guarantees from the mediators — potentially in the form of a binding UN Security Council resolution — that Israel be prevented from resuming the war if Hamas agrees to release hostages. Arab mediators say they face an uphill battle convincing Hamas to release hostages without assurances that Israel will end the war because the previous deal signed in January was supposed to see the sides enter talks regarding the terms of a permanent ceasefire, but Netanyahu largely refused to do so and the truce collapsed in March after its first of three phases.
Nurit Yohanan, Jacob Magid and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.