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President Donald Trump urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pursue a swift and decisive victory over Hamas, the Israeli leader told his cabinet during a Sunday night meeting.
Netanyahu also reportedly conveyed Trump’s message that partial agreements — such as deals to release a handful of Israeli captives in exchange for temporary ceasefires — were no longer acceptable.
“Forget the partial deals. Go in with full force and finish this,” Trump reportedly told Netanyahu, according to the prime minister’s remarks during the meeting.
Netanyahu confirmed to his ministers that Israel would no longer consider any agreement that was not comprehensive — meaning a deal that failed to return all remaining hostages, both living and dead, in one move.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has long opposed partial deals and often clashed with Netanyahu over the war’s prosecution, pushed for a formal cabinet vote to make the policy official.
“There is no need for a vote. It is not on the table,” Netanyahu reportedly replied.
Trump’s reported comments to Netanyahu mark a departure from his administration’s earlier push for a hostage-release deal, which the president had repeatedly promoted.
But Hamas’s refusal to compromise appears to have vexed Trump, who has walked back his previous calls for Israel to accept partial arrangements. Instead, he has pivoted to demanding a decisive and speedy end to the war.
Just last week, Trump predicted the Gaza war would be over by mid-September. U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff offered a broader timeline, saying he believed the fighting would conclude by the end of the year.
Read Haaretz for the real story about what Netanyahu and Ron Dermer are doing that is not dependent on what Trump says. It is in their interest to make it appear that they are only doing Trump’s bidding and he is happy to oblige them.