Netanyahu says Israel working on Gaza ceasefire plan with Trump as death toll tops 66,000

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said he is working with US President Donald Trump on a new Gaza ceasefire plan ahead of their White House meeting. Gaza’s Health Ministry said the war’s death toll has surpassed 66,000, with over 168,000 wounded.

Tel Aviv: On the eve of meeting with US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel is working on a new ceasefire plan with the White House, but details are still being sorted out.

Netanyahu has come under heavy international pressure to end the war, especially during the ongoing offensive in Gaza City. The death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has topped 66,000 Palestinians, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Sunday.

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In Monday’s White House meeting, Trump is expected to share a new proposal for ending the conflict.

“We’re working on it,” Netanyahu told Fox News Sunday’s “The Sunday Briefing.” “It’s not been finalised yet, but we’re working with President Trump’s team, actually as we speak, and I hope we can — we can make it a go.” Arab officials briefed on the plan say the 21-point proposal calls for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages held by Hamas within 48 hours and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the proposal has not been formally announced.

Netanyahu has vowed to continue fighting until Hamas, whose Oct. 7, 2023, attack triggered the war, is destroyed. But he repeated an offer to allow Hamas operatives to leave Gaza as part of a deal ending the conflict.

“If they finish the war, release all the hostages, we let them out,” he said.

Growing international pressure on Israel Trump has so far stood behind Israel. But the US leader has shown signs of impatience lately, particularly after Israel struck the headquarters of Hamas’ political leadership in Doha, Qatar, earlier this month. Ceasefire talks have stalled since, despite growing international and domestic protests.

Key Western allies have joined a list of countries recognizing a Palestinian state over Israeli objections. The European Union is considering sanctions and there are growing moves for a sports and cultural boycott against Israel.

A defiant Netanyahu told fellow world leaders Friday at the UN General Assembly that his nation “must finish the job” against Hamas in Gaza, where 48 hostages are still held captive, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive.