Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Hold Talks with President Donald Trump in US Amid Fears of Israel's Wider Campaigns

The Israeli premier is set to sit down with the US president at the presidential resort in Florida on Monday evening. This occurs as worries grow that Israel could begin new military actions against neighboring adversaries, possibly dragging the Middle East further into unrest.

The prime minister departed Israel on Sunday, marking his fifth meeting to see Trump in the United States this year.

Truce in Gaza and Upcoming Hurdles

High on the agenda will be the halt in hostilities in Gaza, which in October halted the lengthy two-year war. While the stipulations for an initial phase have been for the most part completed, with Israeli forces withdrawing to new positions and Hamas releasing all living and almost all of the deceased hostages, enormous challenges face the implementation of the next stage of the US-brokered 20-point plan.

There are also concerns that Israel will launch new offensives against Hezbollah in Lebanon, violating a ceasefire agreed upon more than a year ago, or against Iran, which it accuses of speeding up the production of ballistic missiles in the past few months.

“Phase 1 is essentially over, there’s one remaining Israeli deceased hostage which [Hamas] are having difficulty finding,” said a peace-building expert.

Both sides accuse each other of violating the agreement. Hamas has not managed to formally commit to laying down its weapons and has had notable achievements in asserting its control in the parts of Gaza where the vast majority of population is situated. Israel appears reluctant to retreat from the 53% of Gaza it now controls or to enable the unhindered flow of aid into the region.

“Phase 2 has to begin … and I think the Americans realise that it’s late because Hamas has had too much time to re-establish its presence and this is absolutely not a situation that the Americans want to perpetuate,” the expert stated.

Civilian Cost and Current Conditions

More than 70,000 Palestinians, predominantly civilians, were killed in Gaza during the war and the vast majority of the territory’s 2.3 million population was displaced. Approximately 400 Palestinians have died in Gaza since the October ceasefire, and vast multitudes continue to live in conditions of extreme difficulty.

In recent weeks, downpours and freezing conditions have exacerbated the misery in Gaza, where the majority of housing and infrastructure have been heavily damaged or destroyed.

The war was triggered by a unexpected offensive by Hamas in southern Israel in 2023, in which 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and 250 others abducted.

Future Steps and Diplomatic Tensions

Under the subsequent phases of the plan, an transitional administration made up of independent Palestinian experts is to govern the Palestinian territory instead of Hamas. An multinational peacekeeping force of thousands of troops is to be deployed.

US officials have suggested the membership of the new authority could be announced in January.

Reports indicate that senior US officials are increasingly exasperated “as Netanyahu has taken steps to weaken the fragile ceasefire and stall the peace process”.

“There are growing evidence that the American administration is getting exasperated with Netanyahu,” observed a Middle East expert. “The question is what it’s going to do about it, because phase 2 is right now going stalled.”

Netanyahu's Priorities

For Netanyahu, a main goal will be convincing Trump to allow Israel to act to prevent Iran from rebounding inflicted on its nuclear programme or building its ballistic missile capabilities.

Meanwhile, efforts to secure a security agreement between Israel and Syria have not advanced meaningfully and will also be a topic at Mar-a-Lago. Israeli officials have also called for more effective efforts to disarm Hezbollah.

Netanyahu faces an election within 10 months, and the impending polls will affect his agenda. “Everything is connected to [his] staying in power,” an analyst said.

Surveys show Netanyahu’s current coalition would face difficulties to form a government if elections were held now. Many voters are angry over the failures that led to the 2023 Hamas raid, policies concerning military service exemptions, and a series of scandals.

A tight alliance with Trump would bolster Netanyahu’s appeal among swing voters and his base. This suggests any public disagreement between the two leaders is very doubtful, analysts said.

Netanyahu is expected to seek to convince Trump of the need for Israel to maintain a military technological edge over potential regional enemies. Many Israeli officials were alarmed by earlier US comments regarding advanced weapons sales to other regional states.