Former US President Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he wants Israel to end the war in Gaza by the time he returns to office if he wins re-election, two sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel this week.

The message was first conveyed when the Republican presidential candidate hosted the Israeli prime minister at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida in July, according to a former Trump administration official and an Israeli official. While Trump has publicly confirmed that he told Netanyahu he wanted Israel to win the war quickly, sources who spoke to the Post revealed there was a timeline attached to that request.

The former US official said Trump was not specific in his appeal to Netanyahu, and he reiterated his support for “residual” Israeli military activity in Gaza, as long as Tel Aviv formally ended the war. Netanyahu has long maintained that Israel will maintain overall security control over Gaza for the foreseeable future after the war, and other Israeli officials have spoken of the IDF maintaining a buffer zone inside the Strip with the ability to enter areas throughout the Strip when Hamas is found to be trying to regroup.

But the prime minister indicated on Monday that Israel had not yet reached the stage of ending the conflict, telling Likud Knesset members in a leaked recording that he could not agree to Hamas's demand to end the war in exchange for the release of 101 hostages it is still holding.

Trump has indicated in recent weeks that he would give Israel greater freedom to make decisions, and has criticized U.S. President Joe Biden for trying to limit potential targets for an Israeli response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Oct. 1.

The former US official explained that the victory that Trump wants Israel to secure in Gaza before Inauguration Day also includes the return of the hostages. Trump warned, at the Republican National Convention in July, that those holding American hostages abroad “will pay a very heavy price” if they are not released before he takes office.