Trump and Israel’s Netanyahu sit down at White House as Gaza ceasefire deal looms: Live updates

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu handed President Donald Trump a letter in which he nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize during a White House dinner Monday night.

President Donald Trump said there is no “holdup” to a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas during a White House dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday night.

When a reporter asked Trump what the holdup was for a ceasefire agreement, he said, “I don’t think there is a holdup.”

“I think things are going along very well,” the president said.

The reporter then asked whether there could be a two-state solution between the Israelis and Palestinians. Trump responded, “I don’t know,” and then directed the question to Netanyahu.

“I think the Palestinians should have all the powers to govern themselves, but none of the powers should threaten us,” Netanyahu told the reporter. “That means certain powers like overall security will always remain in our hands.”

He added: “I think we can work out a peace between us and the entire Middle East with President Trump’s leadership.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave President Donald Trump a letter in which he nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize during a White House dinner.

“He forged the Abraham Accords, he’s forging peace as we speak in one county and one region after the other,” Netanyahu said Monday night.

The prime minister said the prize is “well-deserved,” adding Trump “should get it.”

Trump thanked Netanyahu and shared how unexpected it was, saying, “This I didn’t know.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the White House for dinner with Donald Trump shortly before 7 p.m. ET Monday as the president works to get a ceasefire in Gaza.

Israeli troops have been in Gaza since Hamas launched a deadly attack on its Middle Eastern neighbor on October 7, 2023.

A temporary ceasefire deal was agreed to in January but broken nearly two months later. Trump has been trying to get Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday afternoon: “The utmost priority for the president right now in the Middle East is to end the war in Gaza and to return all of the hostages.”

“There was a ceasefire proposal that Israel supports, that was sent to Hamas. We hope that they will agree to this proposal,” Leavitt said.

Israel and Hamas were set to hold indirect peace talks in Qatar for a second day on Monday, Reuters reported early Monday morning.

Trump announced last Tuesday Israel agreed to “the necessary conditions to finalize” a 60-day truce. And Hamas said last Friday it “submitted a positive response” to a 60-day ceasefire proposal, CNN reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House on Monday.

The two held an “expanded meeting and then met privately,” Netanyahu’s office wrote on X.

Netanyahu also met with Steve Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent his support to Texas after its flood disaster.

Ahead of his visit with President Donald Trump at the White House Monday evening, Netanyahu wrote on X: “My wife Sara and I and all of Israel are praying for the Great State of Texas.

Israel knows disaster—we’ve lived through war, fire, and flood. Dear friends, we stand with you!”

At least 104 people have died as authorities continue to search for victims after catastrophic flash flooding along the Guadalupe River in central Texas last week.

Follow The Independent’s live blog for the latest updates:

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Donald Trump would push back the July 9 deadline for tariff negotiations to August 1, as the president threatened over a dozen countries with tariffs of 25 to 40 percent if a trade deal wasn’t reached by then.

Here are some headlines from today explaining Trump’s latest moves:

Peter Navarro, White House senior counselor for trade, had promised “90 deals in 90 days” as the Trump administration sought better trade agreements with its global partners.

But on Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Trump would push back the July 9 deadline for trade negotiations to August 1.

NBC’s Vaughn Hillyard asked Navarro on Monday: “Why were there not 90 deals in 90 days?”

“Because the rest of the world has it so good that they’re dragging their heels. But the president will not allow that, that’s why the letters went out,” Navarro said.

Hillyard then probed: “Why should countries take the administration seriously that you guys are not gonna push the August 1 deadline back even further and that those tariffs will actually go into effect?”

The trade advisor replied: “It doesn’t matter in the sense that we’re collecting billions of dollars on behalf of the American people and the negotiations are going well.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will soon arrive at the White House for a dinner with President Donald Trump.

Fox News’ Peter Doocy said there is “some of the most serious security” in the area that has been seen for any of Netanyahu’s visits during Trump’s second term.

Doocy said the two leaders will have dinner in the Blue Room.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with a bipartisan group of senators Tuesday afternoon, News Nation’s Kellie Meyer reports.