WASHINGTON — Mediators have been informed that US President Donald Trump wants a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal to be inked by the end of the week, and his top envoy Steve Witkoff is being dispatched to Qatar to advance the effort, even as fundamental differences between the sides remained on Monday.

Trump’s deadline for an agreement has also been passed along to both Israel and Hamas, an Arab diplomat and a second individual involved in the talks told The Times of Israel. Trump told reporters on Sunday that there was a “good chance” a deal could be reached “during the week.”

The US president was slated to host Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for dinner on Monday evening, with Gaza on the top of the agenda along with the recently diminished Iranian nuclear threat and other regional issues.

In preparation for the dinner, Netanyahu met separately on Monday afternoon with Witkoff and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Blair House, where the premier is staying while in Washington this week.

Meanwhile, proximity talks between Israel and Hamas have been ongoing in Doha since Sunday.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a Monday press briefing that Witkoff would fly to Doha later in the week in order to advance those negotiations.

Leavitt said Trump’s “utmost priority” is to end the war in Gaza and return all of the remaining hostages, adding that an “agreeable and appropriate” proposal is on the table after Israel backed it, and urging Hamas to do the same.

The US coordinated closely with Israel last week before sending the proposal to the terror group for its approval.

Hamas said over the weekend that it responded positively to the offer, while submitting three reservations that Netanyahu subsequently asserted were unacceptable.

The three reservations sought to ensure that Israel would not be able to resume the war after the 60-day ceasefire currently under discussion, secure a surge of humanitarian assistance through UN-backed mechanisms, and withdraw Israeli troops to positions held before the previous ceasefire collapsed in early March.

The Arab diplomat said that progress was made during proximity talks that have been held over the past two days in Doha, particularly on the issue of humanitarian aid.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s operations will likely be marginalized, if not ended completely, the Arab diplomat added.

The American aid organization has been criticized for forcing Gazans to walk long distances while crossing IDF lines — often coming under deadly fire as a result — in order to pick up boxes of food. Israel says the mechanism is necessary to prevent Hamas from diverting aid.

An average of fewer than 70 trucks of aid have been entering Gaza each day since Israel lifted a blockade over the Strip in May after 78 days. International organizations say hundreds of trucks are needed daily to address the dire need in the Strip. The extent of the crisis has been highlighted by the chaotic, deadly scenes at and near GHF distribution sites.

Negotiators in Doha have also discussed the exact parameters of Israel’s partial withdrawal from Gaza during the 60-day ceasefire under discussion, the Arab diplomat said, adding that Israeli officials came to Qatar with maps showing the withdrawal that they envision.

Israel is particularly interested in keeping its troops in the Morag corridor, a belt of land cutting off Rafah from Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the Arab diplomat said.

Nonetheless, the source familiar with the negotiations said that mediators are optimistic about being able to secure a compromise on the exact parameters of Israel’s partial withdrawal from Gaza.

As for the core disagreement over whether the ceasefire will be temporary as Israel seeks, or an effective end to the war — as Hamas demands — the two sources told The Times of Israel that Trump will discuss the matter during his dinner with Netanyahu.

The Arab diplomat acknowledged that this was the thorniest issue remaining and it was unclear whether gaps on it could be bridged.

The proposal presented to Hamas last week stated that the 60-day ceasefire can be extended, so long as the sides are negotiating the terms of a permanent ceasefire in good faith. But one of Hamas’s amendments dropped the latter phrase, viewing it as a window Netanyahu could exploit to resume the war, as he did in March, collapsing an agreement reached in January before its second stage.

Accordingly, the Hamas amendment stipulates talks on a permanent ceasefire will continue until an agreement is reached — something Israel has opposed, fearing that the terror group will drag out the talks indefinitely.

Channel 12 reported Monday that Netanyahu is expected to tell Trump during their dinner that Israel remains firm on three non-negotiable conditions for ending the war in Gaza: the complete destruction of Hamas, the exile of its leadership from the Strip, and the full disarmament of the terror group.

While Israel is willing to show more flexibility on other matters, such as the distribution of humanitarian aid and IDF repositioning, these three demands “continue to be the point of contention in the efforts to reach a conclusion to the war,” according to the network.

The deal on the table would secure the release of half of the 20 remaining living hostages, with eight freed on the first day and two released on the 50th day, according to an Arab diplomat from one of the mediating countries.

Roughly half of the slain hostages’ bodies would also be released, with five being transferred on the seventh day, five more on the 30th day and eight more on the 60th day.

While Hamas has offered to release all of the hostages in one batch, Netanyahu — under pressure from far-right coalition partners — opted for the phased framework in order to maintain the ability to resume the war. Accordingly, the terror group demanded more staggered releases to ensure that Israel remains at the negotiation table.

The war began when Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Since then, 140 hostages have been freed by Hamas, mostly during the two ceasefires. In addition, Hamas released the bodies of eight hostages, the IDF rescued eight hostages alive and recovered the bodies of 49 others from the Strip.

Hamas-linked authorities say that more than 57,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, an unverified figure that does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 444.

Lazar Berman and Nava Freiberg contributed to this report.