US President Donald Trump’s 21-point Gaza ceasefire plan has not been finalized yet, but Israel is working with Trump’s staff to advance the plan, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated in an interview with FOX News on Sunday.
“We are currently working with President Trump’s team on the 21-point agreement. We hope to successfully advance the deal,” he said.
Netanyahu and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer met again on Sunday evening with US envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to discuss Trump’s 21-point plan.
“Much of the discussion revolves around wording the plan,” a source familiar with the details told The Jerusalem Post.
“One of the challenges is how to state, on the one hand, that the Palestinian Authority will not be involved in governing Gaza – as Israel demands – while on the other hand, saying that it will be involved – as the Arab states are demanding."
An Israeli official said the goal is to arrive at Monday’s meeting between Netanyahu and Trump at the White House with as few gaps as possible between Washington and Jerusalem.
Netanyahu tells Fox News that he would allow Hamas to leave Gaza for hostages
Meanwhile, an Egyptian delegation is expected to travel to Qatar on Monday for meetings with senior Hamas officials. “After the Netanyahu-Trump meeting, the focus is expected to shift back to Hamas leaders in Doha,” another source familiar with the details explained. “Hamas has been shown several drafts of the president’s 21-point plan but has not yet seen the final document.”
On Sunday, an Israeli official told the Post that at this stage it is difficult to see Hamas agreeing to release all the hostages within the first week or to completely disarm. The two leaders are scheduled to meet at the White House on Monday. During the Fox interview, Netanyahu confirmed that Israel would be willing to allow Hamas leaders to leave Gaza in exchange for the release of the remaining 48 hostages and an end to the war.
“We want to free the hostages, and for Gaza to be demilitarized,” he said.
If the plan were to be agreed upon, the war would be ended in 48 hours, with all 48 hostages released, and the IDF would withdraw. Other points in the 21-point plan include the immediate provision of aid and Israel’s promise not to strike Qatar again. Regarding the last clause, the prime minister said he would be discussing it with the Trump administration but declined to confirm whether Israel would refrain from future Qatar strikes.
When asked whether he regretted the IAF strikes on Qatar, given the regional implications, Netanyahu replied, “I think the US and any self-respecting country doesn’t give a pass to terrorists. We weren’t attacking Qatar any more than the US was attacking Pakistan when it took out [Osama] bin Laden.”
Netanyahu also dismissed claims that the strikes on Qatar would negatively impact the Abraham Accords, especially with the UAE. He called the Accords – brokered by him and President Trump during his first term – “resilient.”
The Israeli leader also doubled down on his promise not to let Iran weaponize its uranium. He claimed that before the strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June, Israel had been aware that it would “not get all 450 kg. of enriched uranium” but that it wanted to prevent Iran from making more and from weaponizing it. He also claimed Israel is aware of the location of Iran’s remaining nuclear sites.
Fox also probed Netanyahu on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and whether he takes responsibility for the food and supply scarcity in the enclave.
“The responsibility lies at the feet of Hamas,” he replied.
Netanyahu denied that Israel carried out or is carrying out mass starvation in Gaza, saying, “There was never a starvation policy in Gaza, and there never will be.” There is no starvation, he said, but admitted that there is “deprivation.” He went on to give the example of the myriad pictures of terrorists with their shirts off during arrest by Israeli forces, saying, “You will not see a single emaciated person.”
The prime minister echoed previous Israeli statistics of a 2:1 combatant-to-civilian ratio in terms of death toll, saying, “We are taking a lot of care to not hurt civilians.” Days after saying he was close to forging a deal to end the war in Gaza, Trump said on Sunday that there is “a real chance for greatness in the Middle East,” without providing specific details.
“All are on board for something special, for the first time ever. We will get it done,” he said in a Truth Social post.
In a separate interview with FOX, Vice President JD Vance noted that he was “optimistic” about a ceasefire in Gaza.
Hamas’s armed terror wing said on Sunday that it lost contact with two hostages during Israeli military operations in two Gaza City neighborhoods.
In a statement, the al-Qassam Brigades said it had demanded that Israel halt air sorties for 24 hours, starting at 6 p.m., in a part of Gaza City to remove the hostages from danger.
Reuters contributed to this report.