Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, met with Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida on Friday, July 26. While taking questions from reporters, Netanyahu said he and Trump discussed the Israeli and American hostages still being held in Hamas’ captivity.
Netanyahu also reiterated that Israel and the U.S. are working on securing a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas to bring home the remaining hostages. Israeli officials estimate there are at least 120 hostages in Hamas’ captivity and that a third of them are likely dead. Both Netanyahu and Trump were asked about the ongoing hostage negotiations.
“I think there’s been some movement because of the military pressure that we exerted,” Netanyahu said. “I hope that there will be sufficient movement to get the deal completed.”
“It’s a very tough. That’s a very tough situation, hostages,” Trump said. “They have to be given back immediately because there can be no way that they’re in good shape and they’re obviously not being treated properly, and you hope that they’re okay. But there are a lot of hostages, I’m sure that will not be okay, and that’s just not an acceptable situation.”
Netanyahu said he hoped his visit to the United States leads to a quicker cease-fire deal. He also met with likely Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris Thursday evening.
Harris told the prime minister she will “not be silent” on the suffering in Gaza while also emphasizing Israel’s right to defend itself after Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack against the Jewish state.
Trump also found a moment to politically criticize Harris’ stance when asked if he had any comment on her meeting with Netanyahu.
“She’s a radical left person,” Trump said. “San Francisco, destroyed San Francisco. She’s really a destroyer. She doesn’t know how to build. And, I think her remarks were disrespectful. They weren’t very nice pertaining to Israel. I actually don’t know how a person who’s Jewish can vote for her, but that’s up to them. But she was certainly disrespectful to Israel, in my opinion.”
According to a statement released by Trump’s campaign, Netanyahu thanked Trump for “working to promote stability in the region.”
“President Trump expressed his solidarity with Israel after the heinous October 7 attack and pledged that when he returns to the White House, he will make every effort to bring peace to the Middle East and combat anti-Semitism from spreading throughout college campuses across the United States,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, The Times of Israel reported Hamas rejected a proposed cease-fire deal Thursday night before it was ever sent.
