Israel, Hamas defiant as US presses for Gaza ceasefire

Israel's bid to crush Hamas's capabilities and bring the hostages home dominated talks between Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump, the Israeli prime minister has said, even as the Palestinian militants vowed no surrender in Gaza.

Netanyahu's visit to Washington, his third since Trump returned as U.S. president in January, came as Doha hosted discussions between the two sides on a possible halt to 21 months of fighting and a hostage release deal.

The indirect talks began on July 6 and have not yet seen any agreement but Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said he was still hopeful of a ceasefire deal.

"The release of all of our hostages, the living and the deceased, and the elimination of Hamas's military and governing capabilities, thereby ensuring that Gaza will never again constitute a threat to Israel," Netanyahu said after meeting Trump for a second time in 24 hours.

"We focused on the efforts to release our hostages," he said.

"We are not relenting, even for a moment, and this is made possible due to the military pressure by our heroic soldiers."

Hamas said in a statement it would never give up. "Gaza will not surrender... and the resistance will impose the conditions, just as it imposed the equations," it added.

Israeli media reported that the number of contentious issues in the negotiations has narrowed from four to one — namely, whether the war would resume after a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza.

Sources indicated that Netanyahu’s strategy is to restart the war following a temporary truce and to implement a plan to displace Gazans by setting up camps in Rafah.

Israel's defense minister recently outlined plans to pack hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into a closed zone of Gaza along the border with Egypt, according to local media reports.

It appears to be the latest version of plans by the Israeli government to maintain lasting control over the territory and relocate much of its population of some 2 million. Critics say that would amount to forcible displacement in violation of international law because Israel's offensive and blockade have made Gaza largely uninhabitable.

The military would initially move 600,000 Palestinians from an existing so-called humanitarian zone along the coast, with the aim of eventually transferring the whole population to Rafah.