US President Donald Trump is pressuring Benjamin Netanyahu to “wrap up” the Gaza war as he becomes increasingly frustrated by the lack of a peace deal, according to Axios.
Sources inside the administration told the outlet that the two leaders have “growing policy differences” over the the war.
In particular, Trump is said to be irked by Jerusalem’s drive to expand the scope of the war at the same time that the US is actively working to end the conflict, further burnishing Trump’s budding credentials as a peacemaker.
The President is also understood to have been “upset” by images of Palestinian children suffering during the months-long aid blockade, with Trump himself publicly saying that “a lot of people are starving” in the Strip.
Israel has consistently rejected claims that there was insufficient humanitarian aid in Gaza during the blockade and blamed any shortages on Hamas theft.
The images, though apparently prompted Trump to press Jerusalem to allow greater aid into the territory, a move that was approved over the weekend.
Nonetheless, the White House is reported to be urging Netanyahu to try and bring the fighting to an end.
Ceasefire talks were underway in Qatar this week, but reached a deadlock due to a “fundamental gap” between the two sides, according to the Gulf nation’s prime minister.
"One party is looking for a partial deal that might… lead to a comprehensive deal, and the other party is looking just for a one-off deal… and to end the war and to get all the hostages out,” said Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, without specifying which statement applied to Israel.
However, Axios’ sources were quick to stress that Trump is not willing to “abandon” Israel and stated that he is not applying “intense pressure” on Jerusalem.
"The president is frustrated about what is happening in Gaza. He wants the war to end, he wants the hostages to come home, he wants aid to go in and he wants to start rebuilding Gaza,” said one official.
And Israeli officials are briefing that “strong pressure” is not being felt at their end either, with one adding: “If the President wants a hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza he needs to put much more pressure on both sides.”
