Donald Trump Hosts Benjamin Netanyahu At Mar-A-Lago To Discuss Gaza Situation

(MENAFN- Live Mint) United States President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, his resort in Florida, on Monday (local time) in order to discuss the next phase of the Gaza situation.

Earlier in the day, Netanyahu also met Pete Hegseth, the US Secretary of War, and shared photos of the interaction on social media.

"He's a wartime prime minister. He's done a phenomenal job. He's taken Israel through a period of trauma. Israel, with other people, might not exist right now if you wanna know the truth...that's a pretty big statement, but I feel that. If you had the wrong prime minister, Israel would not exist today," the US President told the press before stepping inside his resort with Netanyahu.

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"There were met with a force the likes of which very few countries could have handled. We were met with a force and we were very victorious, to put it mildly," Trump continued, adding, "now I hear Iran is trying to build up again, and if they are, we are gonna have to knock 'em down. We'll knock the hell outta them."

Trump also told reporters that it is essential for Hamas to disarm in order to move ahead with the second phase of his peace plan.

He also hoped that the Israeli PM will 'get along' with Syria, which is now under the leadership of Ahmed al-Sharaa.

“We made a lot of progress already. We had about a five-minute meeting, and we've already settled about three of the difficulties,” CNN reported Trump as saying right before the press was ushered out and the meeting began.

Trump's 'pardon' claims denied by Israel President

Trump, on Monday, once again voiced his support for the pardon request of Netanyahu, and claimed that the Israel President has told him that a pardon for the PM is“on its way.”

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However, the office of Isaac Herzog, the president of Israel, said in a statement,“There has been no conversation between President Herzog and President Trump since the pardon request was submitted.” adding that a few weeks ago,“Herzog spoke with a Trump representative who inquired about the request and received an explanation of the process and that any decision would follow standard procedures," as per a CNN report.

Trump's meeting with the Israeli PM comes hours after his call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he discussed the current situation in Ukraine.

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