Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in Florida this week for a critical meeting with US President Donald Trump, seeking to convince him that diplomacy alone will not defeat Hamas, Hezbollah, or Iran—and that only the credible threat of renewed war can lock in peace.
The meeting at Mar-a-Lago, Netanyahu’s sixth with Trump this year, comes as the first phase of Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan reaches its limit. All living Israeli hostages have returned, aid is flowing into Gaza, and the ceasefire is holding—barely. Hamas attacks on IDF troops, Israeli retaliation, and Hamas’s deliberate delays in returning bodies have exposed what Israel sees as the core problem: Hamas has no intention of disarming.
Trump and his advisers believe momentum is the key—keep the process moving, and Hamas will weaken over time. Israel disagrees. Netanyahu plans to argue that without a firm deadline for Hamas to lay down its weapons, the terror group will regroup, rearm, and prepare the next war under the cover of diplomacy.
At the center of Netanyahu’s pitch is a blunt warning: the proposed international stabilization force would not deter Hamas. No country wants to send troops that might actually fight, and contributions from hostile states like Turkey or Pakistan could give Hamas political and military cover to rebuild. Israel wants Trump to set a clear ultimatum—disarm or face a full-scale IDF offensive.
Netanyahu will frame the moment as decisive for Trump’s top envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner: they can be remembered either as the architects who dismantled Hamas or as the negotiators who were outmaneuvered, leaving Gaza primed for another bloodbath.
The challenge is steep. Netanyahu no longer has his key Trump-whisperer Ron Dermer at his side, and reports suggest fatigue with Netanyahu inside Trump’s inner circle. Axios has claimed some US advisers believe the Israeli leader is sabotaging the peace process.
Beyond Gaza, Netanyahu is also pressing Trump on Hezbollah and Iran. The US deadline for Hezbollah’s disarmament expires at year’s end, and Washington has already signaled it will back Israeli escalation if the group refuses. On Iran, Netanyahu wants close coordination on timing and tactics should another strike become necessary, while offering Trump concessions elsewhere—possibly easing Israel’s posture toward Syria’s new regime.
Ceasefires freeze reality; they don’t change it. Netanyahu believes Israel may need to return to the battlefield—in Gaza, Lebanon, and possibly Iran—to create the conditions for lasting peace. Trump prefers diplomacy. This week, the two leaders must decide whether peace in the Middle East will be enforced by agreements—or by fear of what happens when those agreements fail.
