Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed Washington for the Andrews Air Force Base late Thursday, boarding Israel’s national “Wing of Zion” plane back to the country after a four-day visit.
During the trip, he met twice with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, focusing on negotiations for a hostage deal and a Gaza ceasefire. Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that all objectives of the visit were achieved.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara boarding flight back to Israel
(Video: Ilana Curiel)
In an interview with Newsmax before departing, Netanyahu expressed hope to finalize the hostage deal within days. “We have 50 left; 20 definitely alive, and some 30 that are not alive, and I want to take them all out,” he said.
“We now have a deal that supposedly we'll get half of the living and half of the dead out, and so we'll have 10 living left and about 12 deceased hostages," he said. "We'll probably have a 60-day ceasefire. Get the first batch out and then use the 60 days to try to negotiate an end to this. And this could end tomorrow – today – if Hamas lays down its arms.”
He attacked the terror group, accusing it of oppressing Palestinians and using them as human shields. “They complain that the civilian losses are because of us. No, we say to the civilians, 'Leave. Leave the war zone.' ... And Hamas says, 'You don't go. You try to leave the war zone, we'll shoot you.' Hamas is deliberately killing its own people, preventing them from escaping the war zone. So they're monsters."
Netanyahu also addressed Iran, likening the Islamic Republic to “two lumps of cancer”—its nuclear threat and proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, which he called a “noose of death.”
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara boarding flight back to Israel
(Photo: Ilana Curiel)
“It's a cult, a death cult. And it says death to America,” he said. “Hamas is the cat's paw. OK, you cut away the cat's paw, but there's still a cat, and the cat could — or tiger — could devour you. Iran wants to destroy the United States.”
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He described Israel’s recent operation against Iran’s nuclear facilities, prepared over six months, as a sophisticated blend of intelligence, cyber and air operations. “We set their nuclear program back years, removing one tumor,” he said, acknowledging the risk of recurrence requires vigilance.
Despite early optimism in Washington and Jerusalem for a swift agreement, caution has grown. A senior Israeli official told CBS it could take 20 more days to reach a deal. While progress was reported in Qatar-mediated proximity talks, disputes persist over IDF deployment and withdrawal from Gaza.
Israel softened its stance, proposing a reduced presence in the Morag Corridor—previously called “Philadelphi 2” by Netanyahu—but Hamas insists on a full IDF withdrawal to the Philadelphi Corridor.
Israel wants to retain control of Morag, separating Khan Younis and Rafah, to secure the area where it plans a “humanitarian city” for Palestinians. No agreement has been reached, stalling talks.
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff was set to join the Doha talks, mediated indirectly through Qatari representatives but his trip was postponed, signaling challenges. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the parties are “closer” to a deal but acknowledged obstacles remain.
The question of ending the war persists: Netanyahu said that should a ceasefire be reached, talks for a permanent end to the war would begin, but any future agreement requires Hamas’s “surrender,” including disarmament, Gaza’s demilitarization and ending Hamas’s rule. He hinted at undisclosed agreements with Trump regarding Gaza and beyond, noting, “What was agreed between President Trump and me will be revealed in time.”