Netanyahu meets Trump, talks about prisoner exchange with Hamas

By Said Amori

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Friday, saying he will send a delegation to Rome on Sunday to negotiate a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.

Netanyahu's office shared photos and videos on X of Trump welcoming Netanyahu and his wife Sara at his Florida resort.

In the images, Netanyahu stands beside Trump, holding a cap with the phrase “Total Victory” in English, reflecting Netanyahu's stated goal of achieving total victory over Hamas, despite official Israeli circles doubting the feasibility of this in the short term.

Netanyahu is betting on Trump's return to the White House to gain greater support for Israel, including promises of increased military, political, and diplomatic aid.

The Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth said that Netanyahu plans to send an Israeli delegation to Rome on Sunday to negotiate a prisoner exchange deal with Palestinian factions in Gaza.

“Only time will tell if we are close to finalizing the deal,” Netanyahu said, claiming that progress had been made due to military pressure on Hamas.

In addition to the Israeli delegation, teams from Egypt, Qatar, and the US will participate in the Rome meeting, as reported by Cairo News Channel, citing an unnamed high-level Egyptian source.

Before meeting Trump, Netanyahu met with President Joe Biden in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

On Monday, Netanyahu arrived in the US and delivered a speech before Congress on Wednesday. The session was boycotted by nearly half of the Democratic members of the House and Senate, protesting Netanyahu's ongoing war and crimes in the Gaza Strip.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

Nearly 39,200 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 90,400 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio