Netanyahu asks Trump for guarantees that he will resume the war on Gaza if he agrees to a truce.

The Middle East Eye newspaper, citing Israeli media, reported that Israel has asked the United States for guarantees that it will resume its 21-month-old war of genocide in Gaza if it believes its conditions have not been met in negotiations with Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington, where he will meet Monday to discuss details of the agreement negotiated by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt.

Under the potential agreement, the two sides would negotiate during the 60-day truce to reach a permanent ceasefire. According to an Israeli source speaking to Israel's Channel 14, "The current proposal includes a secret side letter from President Trump giving Israel the green light 'to resume attacks if our demands regarding the disarmament of Hamas and the exile of its leaders are not met,' and Israel would be able to decide whether to resume attacks on Gaza." The ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Hezbollah in November 2024 also included a secret side letter from the United States to Israel stating that Israel could continue bombing Lebanon if it determined that Hezbollah was violating the agreement. As a result, Israel has consistently violated the ceasefire with airstrikes, ground raids, and its ongoing occupation of areas in southern Lebanon.

The Middle East Eye report noted that the Channel 14 report cited a "member of the political leadership," a phrase often used to refer to deliberate leaks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. If the leak was deliberate, it could be intended to sabotage the ceasefire negotiations, as Hamas's main demand is a stronger US guarantee of its commitment to turning the agreement into a permanent ceasefire.

Hamas presented several amendments to the US-Israeli proposal for a 60-day ceasefire, including a stronger US guarantee, clearer language regarding an Israeli withdrawal from certain parts of Gaza, and unrestricted aid flows led by the UN and the Palestinian Red Crescent. Netanyahu described Hamas's amendments as "unacceptable," but also agreed to send negotiators to Doha for indirect talks. According to Palestinian sources who spoke to Reuters, the first round of talks ended "without reaching an agreement."

During previous negotiations, Netanyahu reiterated publicly unacceptable demands to Hamas to thwart the chances of reaching an agreement. An analysis published in Haaretz on Sunday indicated that the Israeli leader is trying to undermine the current negotiations, and that an agreement is unlikely to be reached unless President Trump forces him to do so.

Netanyahu will meet with President Trump at the White House on Monday, and a potential ceasefire in Gaza is expected to be a major topic of discussion, along with the recent 12-day US-Israeli war on Iran.