US President Donald Trump on Sunday called for a deal to be made in Gaza and to "get the hostages back!!!" in a post to Truth Social.
Earlier, Trump said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in the process of negotiating a deal with Hamas to free the remaining hostages.
Hamas has said it is willing to free remaining hostages in Gaza under any deal to end the war, while Israel says it can only end if Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms.
Trump calls for Netanyahu corruption trial to be cancelled for the second time
Trump again criticized Israel's prosecutors over the ongoing corruption trial against Netanyahu, saying it was interfering with his ability to conduct talks with both Hamas and Iran.
"The travesty of 'Justice' will interfere with both Iran and Hamas negotiations," Trump wrote. "In other words, it is INSANITY doing what the out-of-control prosecutors are doing to Bibi Netanyahu."
Netanyahu thanked Trump on Sunday morning, saying, "Together, we will make the Middle East Great Again!"
Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 in Israel on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust - all of which he denies. The trial began in 2020 and involves three criminal cases.
Military aid to Israel at stake?
In an additional post, Trump suggested that, given the billions of dollars' worth of military aid Washington was providing to Israel, it was not going to "stand for this."
Trump's second post over the course of a few days defending Netanyahu and calling for the cancellation of the trial went a step further to tie Israel's legal action to US aid.
"The United States of America spends Billions of Dollar [sic] a year, far more than on any other Nation, protecting and supporting Israel. We are not going to stand for this," Trump said.
Interest in resolving the Gaza conflict has heightened in the wake of the US and Israeli bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities. A ceasefire to the 12-day Israel-Iran conflict went into effect early this week.