Trump to meet Netanyahu in Florida as attention turns to Middle East

US President Donald Trump will focus on the Middle East on Monday, when he hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida for talks expected to focus on Gaza and a range of other pressing issues.

Any decisions made could have a potentially far-reaching impact on issues that determine the future of the region.

The United States has been Israel’s biggest military and political backer throughout the two-year war in Gaza and many now view the meeting as a test of the leaders’ relationship and their alignment on key issues.

It will be their sixth meeting since Trump returned to power 11 months ago.

Among the expected discussion points are the future of relations with the new Syrian government, Iranian rearmament and the role of Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Perhaps most importantly, they will discuss progress on the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, where the Israeli government has taken several positions divergent from those of the U.S. government.

The talks will take place as storms continue to batter Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians still live in crude tents that offer little protection from the cold and flooding.

On Monday, the Hamas-run Health Ministry reported the death of a two-month-old baby from the intense cold, bringing the total number of people killed by winter weather since December 10 to three, while another 17 people were killed by collapsing storm-damaged buildings.

The UN and many humanitarian agencies have accused Israel of failing to respect its ceasefire obligations by continuing to restrict full access to basic supplies and equipment. Israel said it was meeting its obligations by facilitating an increase in aid deliveries.

The Trump administration wants to see the ceasefire advance to its second phase in January, during which a technocratic Palestinian government would be established alongside the deployment of an international security force, Hamas would disarm, Israeli troops would withdraw, and reconstruction of the devastated territory would begin.

Critics have suggested that Netanyahu may instead seek to delay progress on the ceasefire, saying he does not want to engage seriously with questions of the Palestinians’ political future and will instead push for Hamas to completely disarm before Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza. Hamas officials have repeatedly stated that its complete disarmament should occur alongside progress toward an independent Palestinian state.

The 20-point peace plan promoted by Trump and signed by Israel and Hamas recognizes Palestinian aspirations for a sovereign state, but Netanyahu and his ministers have consistently rejected the creation of a Palestinian state since the ceasefire took effect in October.

Last week, Defense Minister Israel Katz said his country would build settlements in Gaza and “never completely withdraw” from the territory even if Hamas disarmed, although that was a key tenet of the ceasefire agreement.

Breaking the current impasse is seen as crucial by many in the region as deadly near-daily attacks by the Israeli army continue to take place in Gaza despite the declared ceasefire.

In the 80 days since it took effect, at least 414 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army in the territory, according to the Health Ministry.

The Israeli army, which controls more than half of Gaza, said it had only opened fire in response to ceasefire violations.

Three Israeli soldiers were killed in attacks the army blamed on Hamas during the same period.

Israel also continues to wait for Hamas to return the body of Ran Gvili, the last hostage to die in Gaza. All living and deceased hostages taken during the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war, should have been returned three days after the ceasefire took effect.

Trump’s intervention and U.S. mediation could intervene on difficult and unresolved sticking points, pushing Netanyahu to take a softer line on some positions.

For example, the Israeli government opposed Turkey’s participation in the deployment of the International Stabilization Force in Gaza. However, few other countries agreed to participate.

Netanyahu is also expected to meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is seen as supportive of the Israeli government’s positions.

Last week, Israeli media reported that the prime minister may attempt to re-discuss the annexation of the Israeli-occupied West Bank – something President Trump has spoken out against.

Israeli ministers have recently described their expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank as a de facto annexation of territory aimed at burying the possibility of an independent Palestinian state.

Settlements and annexation are illegal under international law.

Netanyahu is also expected to use his meeting with Trump on Monday to ask the United States for authorization to launch further military strikes against Iran.

The Israeli government believes Iran is rearming its missile capabilities after this summer’s 12-day war, in which Iranian nuclear facilities were bombed by Israeli and U.S. warplanes.

Iran’s president declared this weekend that his country was in “total war” with Israel, the United States and Europe. “They don’t want our country to remain stable,” Masoud Pezeshkian said.