Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel was traveling to Washington yesterday for meetings this week with President Trump and other top officials at a pivotal moment for the Middle East. Before boarding his plane, Netanyahu made several references to “peace.”
The talks are expected to cover crucial regional issues, including Iran’s nuclear ambitions and support for armed proxies on Israel’s borders, as well as the possibility of formalizing ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, a major regional player. Trump has made clear that he wants the wars in the Middle East to end.
Negotiations are supposed to start today over the Gaza cease-fire’s second phase, which is meant to turn the two-week-old truce into a more permanent cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas and facilitate the release of the militants’ remaining hostages.
An Israeli aircraft yesterday fired toward a vehicle that the military said had been moving north along an unauthorized route. Gaza’s Ministry of Health did not immediately report any fatalities.
