Tel Aviv, July 8, (dpa/GNA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has departed for Washington for a trip lasting several days as ceasefire efforts draw closer to ending 21 months of war in Gaza.
“This is my third visit with (US President Donald Trump) since he was elected over six months ago,” Netanyahu told journalists before his departure at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu said he would also hold talks with US government officials, representatives of both congressional parties and other key officials.
The trip to Washington comes less than two weeks after the end of a 12-day war with Iran, during which Israel and the US destroyed key facilities of Iran’s nuclear programme.
Netanyahu said the airstrikes on Iran, which killed more than 900 people according to Iranian officials, would now make it possible to expand “the circle of peace, far beyond what we could have imagined previously.”
He added that the changed realities would bring a “great future” for Israel and the entire Middle East.
On the topic of the war in Gaza, Netanyahu said he had sent a negotiating delegation to indirect talks with Hamas in Doha, the Qatari capital.
Talks are aimed at securing a 60-day ceasefire, during which 10 of the 20 living Israeli hostages held by Hamas are to be released. During this ceasefire, the parties are to negotiate a permanent end to the war and the release of the remaining hostages. Qatar, Egypt and the US are mediating the talks.
GNA