US President Donald Trump has announced that a peace agreement to conclude the Gaza conflict is nearly finalized for ‘the first time ever’ as he meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House today.

Trump is confident that progress is imminent following discussions with Arab leaders last week, asserting that the deal would result in the release of hostages, establish a ceasefire, and compel Hamas to relinquish their weapons.

On Sunday, he suggested a significant breakthrough on his Truth Social platform, posting: ‘ALL ARE ON BOARD FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL, FIRST TIME EVER. WE WILL GET IT DONE!!!’

However, Netanyahu has expressed skepticism about the outcome. In his UN address on Friday, he committed to ‘finish the job’ against Hamas and promised to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, despite recent recognition by several Western nations.

The Israeli Prime Minister is also not showing any inclination to curb his military’s advance through Gaza City, an area where the United Nations reports nearly 700,000 residents have been displaced since early September.

This will be Netanyahu’s fourth White House trip since Trump returned to power in January. 

The American president has repeatedly promised he could solve the conflict in a matter of days, though he has so far failed to deliver.

Trump, usually one of Netanyahu’s closest allies, has begun to show irritation. 

Last week, he cautioned Netanyahu against the annexation of the West Bank, despite pressure from certain cabinet members, and expressed dissatisfaction with an Israeli attack on Hamas operatives in Qatar, an important US ally.

Natan Sachs, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said the outcome of the meeting depends on how hard Trump is willing to push. 

‘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,’ Sachs told AFP. ‘It would need a lot of pressure from Trump and a very clear and sustained strategy.’

The pair are due to appear together at a joint news conference at 1:15 pm Eastern time (16:15 BST) on Monday.

Trump’s upbeat tone last week followed meetings with Arab and Muslim-majority leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. 

Reports suggest a 21-point American plan is already being circulated among diplomats. It would see Hamas disarmed, hostages freed and a ceasefire agreed.

One idea being floated is for former UK prime minister Tony Blair to oversee a temporary governing body for Gaza. The proposed ‘Gaza International Transitional Authority’ would operate with UN and Gulf backing before eventually transferring power to a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Netanyahu flatly rejected that during his UN speech, saying the PA should have no role in Gaza. The Palestinian Authority lost control of the strip when Hamas seized power in 2007.

Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, he cast doubt that the PA could ever 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 said.

The current war began with Hamas’s bloody October 7 attack, which left 1,219 people dead in Israel, most of them civilians. 

It was the single deadliest day in the country’s history. Militants also kidnapped around 250 hostages, some of whom remain in captivity nearly two years on.

Israel’s response has been devastating. According to the health ministry in Gaza, which the UN treats as credible, more than 65,549 Palestinians have been killed, the majority of them civilians. 

In recent weeks, Netanyahu and his officials have ramped up attacks in Gaza. 

Earlier this month, Israel Katz said the country was ‘opening the gates of hell’ in Gaza as the IDF blew up a tower block. It claimed it was being used by Hamas terrorists. 

Meanwhile, Netanyahu, in confirming plans of a full Gaza takeover, said in August: ‘We will deepen the blows to the terror infrastructure above and below ground, and disconnect the reliance of the population on Hamas.’ 

This month, a United Nations commission concluded that Israel’s conduct in Gaza amounts to genocide, citing evidence of mass killing, the use of siege tactics that cut off food and medical aid, and ‘conditions of life’ deliberately imposed to bring about destruction. 

The UN and WHO have also confirmed famine conditions in Gaza, with more than half a million people facing severe hunger and many going days without food.

Israel strongly rejects the allegations – its government says these claims are ‘distorted and false,’ arguing its military campaign is aimed not at Palestinians broadly, but at ending Hamas and defending its citizens.

Last week, at Netanyahu’s address to the UN General Assembly, several diplomats and heads of state were seen walking out.