Trump, hosting Netanyahu in Florida, says next phase of Gaza ceasefire plan will begin ‘as quickly as we can’

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walk inside after Netanyahu arrived at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida on Dec. 29. Photo by Jim Watson / AFP / Getty Images

President Donald Trump repeated his claims that the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan is imminent ahead of a highly anticipated meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday in Florida.

While progress on the U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel in October has been slow moving, with both Israel and Hamas accusing the other of failing to uphold their end of the bargain, Trump appeared eager to find ways to speed up the peace process as he stood beside Netanyahu Monday afternoon.

When asked by a reporter how quickly Trump hoped to move into phase two of the ceasefire plan, he replied “as quickly as we can” before stipulating that the next phase was contingent upon Hamas disarming.

But later, when asked by another reporter whether the reconstruction of Gaza will begin before Hamas is disarmed, Trump replied, “I think it’s going to begin pretty soon,” adding that he and Netanyahu were “looking forward to it.”

“Look what a mess it is, and it’s been a mess for centuries, really, it’s been a mess for a long time. It seems to be born for that, but we’re gonna straighten it out,” said Trump of the enclave. “We’re already starting certain things, we’re doing things for sanitary conditions and others, but Gaza is a tough place. You know the expression ‘it’s a tough neighborhood,’ it’s truly a tough neighborhood.”

At another press conference following the meeting, which lasted roughly two hours, Trump said that Hamas would be given “a very short period of time to disarm.”

“If they don’t disarm as as they agreed to do, they agreed to it, and then they’ll be held to pay for them, and we don’t want that, we’re not looking for that, but they have to disarm within a fairly short period of time, withdrawing its force,” said Trump. Later, Trump said that the other countries who backed the ceasefire deal would “wipe out Hamas” if the terror group does not disarm.

Following the meeting, Trump also appeared to revive his past proposal for Palestinians in Gaza to voluntarily leave the enclave, a plan that received a chorus of condemnation when he first broached the subject in February.

“I’ve always said it, I said if they were given the opportunity to live in a better climate, they would move,” said Trump, referring to Palestinians in Gaza. “They’re there because they sort of have to be. I think it would be, I think it’d be a great opportunity, but let’s see if that opportunity presents itself.”

Over two months after all 20 living hostages were returned to Israel as part of the first phase of the ceasefire deal, the remains of only one deceased hostage, Ran Gvili, remain in Gaza.

The next phase, which would include Israel and Hamas losing authority in Gaza and the establishment of a “Board of Peace” to oversee the enclave’s future, is expected to begin once Gvili is returned.

“It’s the only one left, and we’re doing everything we can to get his body back,” said Trump of Gvili. “And the parents just said, hopefully he’s alive. And I said I’d love you to think that way.”

Later, Trump also repeated his false claim that no hostages were released from Gaza under the Biden administration. In November 2023, 105 hostages, mainly women and children, were released during a temporary truce.

Beyond pressure from Washington to initiate the next phase of the ceasefire, the pair were also expected to discuss a host of other topics, ranging from Iran’s alleged nuclear capabilities to Israel’s relations with Turkey and Syria.

When asked whether Trump would ask Netanyahu to sign an agreement with Syria amid tensions between the two countries, Trump responded, “I hope he’s going to get along with Syria.”

Following the meeting, Trump said that the was “sure” that Israel and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa will “get along,” an assertion that Netanyahu appeared to back.

“Our interest is to have a peaceful border with Syria,” said Netanyahu. “We want to make sure that the border area right next to our border is safe. We don’t have terrorists, we don’t have attacks.”

Trump also appeared to respond positively when asked whether he expected Turkish forces to be stationed in Gaza, a proposal that Israel has sought to block. (Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been overtly hostile to Israel over the course of the war in Gaza.)

“I have a great relationship with President Erdogan, and we’ll be talking about it, and if it’s good, I think that’s good, and a lot will be having to do with Bibi,” said Trump. “We’re going to be talking about that, but Turkey has been great.”

Later during the press conference, Trump expressed his openness to launching an assault on Iran amid reports that the gulf nation is seeking chemical and biological warheads for its ballistic missiles. In June, the United States joined Israel’s conflict with Iran and bombed three sites in the country, a strike that it claimed had “obliterated” its nuclear capabilities.

“Now I hear that Iran is trying to build up again, and if they are, we’re going to have to knock them down,” said Trump. “We’ll knock them down. We’ll knock the hell out of them, but hopefully that’s not happening. I heard Iran wants to make a deal. If they want to make a deal, that’s much smarter.”

When asked by a reporter whether he sought to “overthrow” the Iranian regime, Trump replied, “I’m not going to talk about overthrow of a regime.” But when asked by a reporter whether he would support an Israeli attack on Iran if the country continues to develop ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, Trump responded “absolutely.”

The meeting between Netanyahu and Trump also comes as Trump has called for Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Netanyahu, who currently has three legal cases open against him, on charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust.

Responding to a question about the potential for a pardon, Trump claimed that Herzog had said the pardon was “on its way.”

“He’s a wartime Prime Minister who’s a hero, how do you not give a pardon? You know, I think it’s a very hard thing not to do it,” said Trump. “I spoke to the president and he tells me it’s on its way. You can’t do better than that, right?”

Following Trump’s remarks, Herzog’s office issued a statement stating that there had been no talks between him and Trump since the American leader wrote to Herzog advocating for a pardon in November.

“There has been no conversation between President Herzog and President Trump since the pardon request was submitted,” Herzog’s office said in a statement.

At the end of the press conference, before the two leaders entered Mar-a-Lago in an embrace, Netanyahu responded to the only question posed to him: “What makes President Trump such a strong friend to the State of Israel?”

“I think Israel is very blessed to have President Trump leading the United States, and I’ll say leading the free world at this time,” said Netanyahu, reiterating his long-held praise for the leader. “I think it’s not merely Israel’s great fortune. I think it’s the world’s great fortune.”

Trump then took his turn at the question, telling reporters that the Israeli leader could be “very difficult on occasion.”

“Bibi’s a strong man. He can be very difficult on occasion, but you need a strong man,” said Trump. “If you had a weak man, you wouldn’t have Israel right now….Israel, with most other leaders, would not exist today.”

This article originally appeared on JTA.org.