The US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have agreed to end the war in the Gaza Strip in two weeks and to extend the Abraham Accords to Syria and Saudi Arabia.
This is reported by the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom, citing a source familiar with the conversation between the leaders.
Trump and Netanyahu spoke by phone immediately after the US strikes on Iranʼs nuclear facilities, the newspaper claims. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer also joined the "euphoric" conversation.
One of the key agreements is that fighting in the Gaza Strip will cease within two weeks. The enclave will be administered by four Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. The leadership of the Hamas terrorist group will be expelled and all hostages will be released. Several unnamed countries will agree to accept Gaza residents who wish to emigrate.
Saudi Arabia and Syria will establish diplomatic relations with Israel, followed by other Arab and Muslim countries. Israel promises to resolve the conflict with the Palestinians in accordance with the concept of "two states". But the condition is reforms in the Palestinian Authority. Meanwhile, Washington recognizes limited Israeli sovereignty in some parts of Judea and Samaria.
Two diplomatic sources told Israel Hayom that Trump had been putting serious pressure on Netanyahu to end the fighting in Gaza, starting before Israel attacked Iran on June 13 and continuing after the operation. Another source said he had no information about the pressure.
According to the newspaper, Trump feared that the plan would fail due to Israeli airstrikes after the announced ceasefire with Iran. The US president urged Netanyahu not to jeopardize “their joint strategic peace initiative over a minor Iranian missile incident”.
Whatʼs happening in the Middle East?
On the night of June 13, Israel attacked the center of Iranʼs nuclear, missile, and military infrastructure. After that, Iran declared that it would not participate in negotiations with the United States on its nuclear program, scheduled for June 15. On the evening of June 13, Iran responded by attacking Israel with ballistic missiles. The sides began to exchange blows.
On the night of June 22, the United States attacked three Iranian nuclear facilities in the cities of Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. American B-2 stealth bombers dropped six GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs on Iranʼs Fordow nuclear facility, two GBU-57 bombs on the Natanz nuclear facility, and a U.S. Navy submarine launched a salvo of 30 Tomahawk missiles, targeting the Natanz facility and another in Isfahan. Details of the operation can be found here.
Trump claimed that all three facilities “have been completely and irreversibly destroyed”. The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Kaine, had previously stated that the nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan were “severely damaged”, but he stopped short of saying that Iran’s nuclear capabilities had been “destroyed”. And on June 23, Iran fired several missiles at US military bases in the Middle East.
On the night of June 24, US President Donald Trump reported that Israel and Iran had agreed to a full ceasefire. A few hours later, Israel confirmed the ceasefire had begun. Then it said that Tehran had violated it.
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