President Trump will chair a meeting at the White House aimed at breaking the impasse on negotiations between Israel and Hamas and mapping out a postwar plan for Gaza, three officials said.
Wednesday’s meeting, which will include the president’s top national-security aides and senior Israeli officials, is an attempt to renew efforts to bring about an end to the war ahead of the United Nations summit next month as Israel looks to head off an effort by other Western nations to recognize a Palestinian state.
Efforts to forge a joint U.S.-Israeli plan come as Israel is facing growing domestic and international pressure to end the war amid a dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza and concerns over the well-being of hostages still being held by Hamas.
Ahead of the meeting, Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff said the White House believes it could end the Israel-Hamas war by the end of the year.
“It is a very comprehensive plan we are putting together on the next day, and many people are going to see how robust it is and how well-meaning it is and it reflects President Trump’s humanitarian motives here,” Witkoff said in a Fox News interview on Tuesday.
Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, a close confidant of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will lead the discussion from the Israeli side, according to a person familiar with the matter. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also acting national-security adviser, was due to meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar separately on Wednesday.
Israel wants to come up with a postwar Gaza plan before the U.N. General Assembly in September, the person familiar with the plans said, when several countries including France and Canada plan to recognize a Palestinian state. The U.S. and Israel have both sharply condemned this plan, saying the push for statehood would reward Hamas for its Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks that triggered the war.
Israel announced earlier this month that its security cabinet had approved five principles for ending the war, including demilitarizing Gaza, Hamas disarming and stepping down for an alternative civilian administration and continued Israeli security control of the enclave.
Hamas has rejected those conditions. Arab mediators and families of hostages say the conditions are unrealistic and aimed at sabotaging a deal.
No new plans or details about a comprehensive deal to end the war in Gaza or what the enclave will look like after the fighting ends have been presented to Arab countries by Israel or the U.S., Arab mediators said.
The U.S. has worked closely on possible cease-fire deals and postwar planning with Arab countries, who have taken the lead on negotiations between Hamas and Israel.
“President Trump has been clear that he wants the war to end, and he wants peace and prosperity for everyone in the region. The White House has nothing additional to share on the meeting at this time,” a White House spokesperson said.
Israel has long said that a central goal of its war is to remove Hamas as a military and governmental power in Gaza. Hamas earlier this month rejected an Arab proposal that would end the war if it gave power of the enclave over to an international force.
Instead, Hamas said it would accept a 60-day cease-fire proposal that was nearly identical to one known as the Witkoff plan, and which Israel had accepted before talks fell apart in July when Israel pulled out. As part of the proposal, 10 hostages were to be released in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners. The two sides were to enter talks about reaching a lasting truce on the first day of the agreement.
Israel hasn’t given a clear response to mediators about that offer but Israeli officials have repeatedly suggested incremental steps won’t halt the war. “This war will not end until all the hostages are released,” Israeli ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon told reporters on Wednesday. “This war will not end until Hamas is defeated.”
Despite the plan to end the war, Netanyahu has also approved plans to expand it. The Israeli military is calling up about 60,000 reservists for September, when an operation to take over Gaza City is expected to begin if there isn’t a cease-fire deal. Israel has said that Gaza City remains a Hamas stronghold. It is also where Israeli officials believe Hamas is holding some hostages. Families of hostages oppose the Gaza City operation, fearful that it could result in the deaths of their loved ones.
Netanyahu is facing growing domestic pressure in Israel to end the war. Polls in Israel show that some 80% of the public supports ending the war in exchange for the remaining hostages. In recent weeks, protests calling to end the war in a deal have drawn hundreds of thousands of Israelis to the streets.
Write to Robbie Gramer at robbie.gramer@wsj.com, Anat Peled at anat.peled@wsj.com and Summer Said at summer.said@wsj.com