The President of the USA, Donald Trump, met Netanyahu in the White House for the second day in a row on Tuesday.
"We have focused on freeing our hostages. We do not give up for a moment, and this is possible thanks to the military pressure that our heroic soldiers exert", writes Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement on social media on Wednesday morning Swedish time.
He further states that Israel's goal with the war in Gaza has not changed.
"Firmly determined"
"We are firmly determined to achieve all our goals: the release of all our hostages – both living and dead, the elimination of Hamas' military and state capacity, and thereby ensuring that Gaza no longer constitutes a threat to Israel", says Netanyahu in the statement.
Since Sunday, indirect negotiations have been underway between Israel and Hamas in Qatar's capital Doha – which the USA's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will join later in the week. Witkoff has said that he is "hopeful" that Israel and Hamas will agree on a 60-day ceasefire.
According to sources for Sky News , the Israeli military's presence on the Gaza Strip is the "only issue" that remains to be resolved in the negotiations on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. It is also the core of the choice that Israel faces – ending the war and getting the hostages home but with Hamas remaining in power, or militarily occupying Gaza for an indefinite period.
No concrete messages
Netanyahu has not given any concrete messages during his visit to Washington, which is his third since Trump was re-elected as president, on how he relates to a possible ceasefire with Hamas.
It is a tragedy, and he (Netanyahu) wants to solve it, and I want to solve it, and I think the other side wants it, said Trump to reporters before the meeting on Tuesday.
During Monday's meeting, Netanyahu emphasized that Israel will "always" retain control over security in Gaza.
