Israel's Netanyahu to meet Trump in Washington on Feb 4 amid Gaza ceasefire

By Ryan Patrick Jones

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Feb. 4, the two governments said on Tuesday.

The meeting is set to take place amid a fragile six-week ceasefire that has brought a temporary pause to 15 months of fighting between Israel and militant group Hamas in Gaza.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday he wants Egypt to take in Palestinians from the enclave, where much of the population has been displaced by Israel's military onslaught.

"I wish he would take some. We help them a lot, and I'm sure he can help us," Trump said of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whom he called a "friend."

"I'd like to get them living in an area where they can live without disruption and revolution and violence," Trump said of Palestinians in Gaza.

Trump over the weekend suggested Egypt and Jordan should take in Palestinians from Gaza. The two countries and other Arab states oppose removing Palestinians from Gaza, in part because it is land Palestinians want as part of a future Palestinian state.

The Gaza war was sparked by Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, when militants killed 1,200 and took about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's war on Gaza has killed some 47,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, and led to accusations of genocide and war crimes that Israel denies.

Under the terms of a ceasefire agreed this month, an initial six-week phase is due to see the release of 33 hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

Displaced Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City this week and found a city in ruins after 15 months of fighting.

(Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones, Jeff Mason and Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Cynthia Osterman)