A reported phone call between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu reveals a heated dispute over a potential breakthrough in the Gaza war.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Following the announcement that Hamas partially welcomed President Trump’s 20-point peace plan, Trump reportedly called Prime Minister Netanyahu on October 3, viewing the response as a major positive step.
Netanyahu, however, dismissed Hamas’s partial acceptance as “nothing to celebrate… It doesn’t mean anything.”
According to a U.S. official who spoke to Axios, an irritated Trump snapped back at the Prime Minister, saying, “I don’t know why you’re always so fing negative. This is a win. Take it.”*
Trump later confirmed to Axios that he told Netanyahu it was his “chance for victory” and that “He’s got to be fine with it. He has no choice. With me, you’ve got to be fine.”
Key Points of the Conflict
| Trump’s View | Netanyahu’s View | Hamas’s Response & Demands |
| The partial welcome is a “win.” | The response is “insignificant.” | Partially welcomed the plan. |
| Urged Netanyahu to “take the win.” | Dismissed it as “nothing to celebrate.” | Ready to negotiate hostage release. |
| Demanded an immediate halt to Israeli airstrikes. | Embraced the plan’s call for Gaza’s demilitarisation and the exclusion of Hamas from future governance. | Demands a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. |
The plan demands the demilitarization of Gaza and rules out any future governing role for Hamas. However, Hamas stated its readiness to negotiate a hostage release in return for a full Israeli withdrawal and a role in a “Palestinian national framework.”
A day after the call, Israel ordered a halt to its airstrikes. Now, indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, attended by U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are set to begin in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Trump has urged negotiators to “move fast.”
The negotiations occur against the backdrop of immense suffering, with UN figures stating that more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including over 18,000 children, since the war began following the October 7, 2023, attack.
