US President Donald Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday for high-stakes talks aimed at sealing an elusive Gaza peace agreement.
Trump says a deal to end the nearly two-year war, free hostages held by Hamas and disarm the Palestinian militants is effectively done following talks with Arab and Muslim leaders last week.
"ALL ARE ON BOARD FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL, FIRST TIME EVER," he posted on Truth Social on Sunday. "WE WILL GET IT DONE!!!"
Trump's plan, according to The Times of Israel and US news site Axios, calls for an immediate ceasefire, a phased Israeli withdrawal and the release of hostages within 48 hours.
Israel would then free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including several serving life terms.
Netanyahu however has given little reason for optimism, vowing in a defiant UN speech Friday to "finish the job" against Hamas and rejecting Palestinian statehood -- recently recognized by several Western nations.
Netanyahu also appears reluctant to halt Israel's military offensive in Gaza City, which has displaced hundreds of thousands.
It is Netanyahu's fourth White House visit since Trump returned to power in January.
Normally a staunch ally of Netanyahu, Trump has shown signs of frustration.
He warned Netanyahu last week against annexing the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as some of Netanyahu's cabinet members have urged, and also opposed Israel's recent strike on Hamas members in key US ally Qatar.
Israeli strikes continued across Gaza, killing at least four people in Khan Yunis, according to the Hamas-run territory's civil defense agency.
Families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza urged Trump to uphold his Gaza proposal.
"We respectfully ask you to stand firm against any attempts to sabotage the deal you have brought forth," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in an open letter to Trump.
"Our families have waited too long for any interference to derail this progress."
The outcome may hinge on how far Trump pushes Netanyahu, said Natan Sachs, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.
"Netanyahu has a clear preference for continuing the war and defeating Hamas, but I don't think it's impossible for Trump to convince him otherwise," said Sachs.
"It would need a lot of pressure from Trump and a very clear and sustained strategy."
The pair are scheduled to hold a joint news conference at 1:15 pm (1715 GMT).
Trump sounded increasingly optimistic last week about the prospects of a deal after meeting Arab and Muslim-majority leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Under the US proposals, former British prime minister Tony Blair was floated in some media reports as a possible leader of a transitional authority for Gaza.
The body, known as the "Gaza International Transitional Authority", would operate with the support of the UN and Gulf nations before eventually handing control to a reformed Palestinian Authority (PA).
Netanyahu, during his UN speech, dismissed the idea of the Ramallah-based PA having a role in governing Gaza, which it did until Hamas seized power in 2007.
He expressed deep skepticism on Sunday that the PA could be reformed.
"I think that the credibility or the likelihood of... a reformed Palestinian Authority that changes completely its stripes, that accepts a Jewish state, that teaches its children to embrace the coexistence and friendship with the Jewish state, rather than living their lives in order to annihilate it... well, good luck," he told Fox News.
In Gaza, people expressed a mix of hope, exhaustion and distrust ahead of the White House meeting.
"I don't expect anything from Trump, because Trump supports Netanyahu in destroying the Gaza Strip and displacing people to carry out the Riviera project," said Mohammed Abu Rabee, 34, referring to Trump's earlier proposal to turn the Palestinian territory into the "Riviera of the Middle East".
Others voiced cautious optimism.
"We hope Trump's plan succeeds. We want the war and the killing to stop... the army has destroyed everything in Gaza; Gaza is unliveable," said Hossam Abd Rab, 55.
The Gaza war was triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack that killed 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally from Israeli official figures.
Israel's offensive has killed 66,055 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to health ministry figures in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency or the Israeli military.
