Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, met several times with President Trump, amid rising hopes of a cease-fire in Gaza, but there are still obstacles to a truce with Hamas.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to Israel on Friday without finalizing a truce with Hamas in Gaza, after days of talks in Washington with American officials, including President Trump, left key issues unresolved.
The fate of the war in the Gaza Strip now hangs in the balance, with mediators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar yet to find compromises on the length of a truce, the extent of any Israeli withdrawal from occupied areas of Gaza, and how aid will be distributed in the territory during a cease-fire.
Before flying home, Mr. Netanyahu released a statement saying that he was working toward a two-month truce in which Hamas would release half of the roughly 50 hostages still held in Gaza — both those who are still alive and the bodies of those who have died. But his statement also highlighted how key obstacles to an agreement remain in place.
He refused to promise that a temporary truce would evolve into a permanent arrangement, one of Hamas’s longstanding demands. He said that Hamas must give up its weapons before Israel enters into discussions over ending the war.
Any end-of-war negotiations must be contingent, Mr. Netanyahu said, on “the minimal conditions that we’ve set: Hamas lays down its arms, Gaza is demilitarized, there are no longer any governing or military capabilities of Hamas. These are our fundamental conditions.”
Hamas officials swiftly rejected the premise, leaving the future of the talks in the balance. Disarmament would “never” be part of the negotiations, Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, said in a text message.
