By Maayan Lubell and Jeff Mason
JERUSALEM/WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump about developments in Syria and a current push to safe the discharge of Israeli and international hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, he stated on Sunday.
Netanyahu stated he spoke with Trump on Saturday night time in regards to the situation, which is able to loom massive as one of many primary international challenges going through Trump when he takes workplace if it isn’t resolved earlier than he’s sworn in on Jan. 20.
Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 individuals and kidnapped greater than 250, together with Israeli-American twin nationals, throughout their Oct. 7, 2023 assault on Israel, in accordance with Israeli tallies. Greater than 100 hostages have been freed by means of negotiations or Israeli navy rescue operations. Of the 100 nonetheless held in Gaza, roughly half are believed to be alive.
Israel’s response has killed nearly 45,000 individuals, principally civilians, in accordance with authorities within the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, displaced practically your complete inhabitants and left a lot of the enclave in ruins.
Trump’s Center East envoy, Steve Witkoff, warned final week throughout a go to to the area that it might “not be a pretty day” if the hostages held in Gaza weren’t launched earlier than Trump’s inauguration.
Trump stated earlier this month there could be “hell to pay” within the Center East if the hostages weren’t launched earlier than he got here into workplace.
A Trump spokesperson on Sunday declined to provide additional particulars in regards to the name.
A bid by Egypt, Qatar and the US to succeed in a truce that might additionally embody a hostage deal has gained momentum in current weeks.
Netanyahu stated he had spoken with Trump about efforts to safe a hostage launch. “We discussed the need to complete Israel’s victory and we spoke at length about the efforts we are making to free our hostages,” he stated.
President Joe Biden’s outgoing administration is working exhausting to attain a deal. U.S. nationwide safety adviser Jake Sullivan, who was within the area final week, stated on Thursday he believed a deal on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage launch could also be shut, and deputy nationwide safety adviser Jon Finer instructed Reuters there was momentum within the course of.
Netanyahu stated he and Trump had additionally mentioned the scenario in Syria following the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad. Israel has carried out a whole lot of strikes on Syria’s strategic weapons stockpiles within the days since Assad’s ouster and moved troops right into a demilitarised zone inside Syria.
“We have no interest in a conflict with Syria,” Netanyahu stated in a press release. Israeli actions in Syria have been supposed to “thwart the potential threats from Syria and to prevent the takeover of terrorist elements near our border,” he stated.
