Top Trump aides said to have run out of patience with Netanyahu over Gaza ceasefire

Upcoming meet at Mar-a-Lago to test if Trump feels same way about Israeli prime minister as his vexed staff, with White House hoping to announce new steps in peace plan

US President Donald Trump’s top aides believe that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sabotaging the ceasefire deal and peace process, according to a report on Friday, with a upcoming meeting a key test as to whether the American leader shares their view.

Trump is planning several major announcements on Gaza in early January, but the direction of the peace process hinges on his meeting Monday at Mar-a-Lago with Netanyahu, Axios reported, citing White House and Israeli officials.

According to the report, Trump’s team believes Netanyahu is delaying the Gaza ceasefire framework and could ultimately resume the war against Hamas, even as the Israeli leader seeks to persuade Trump himself to adopt a more hawkish approach.

“Bibi is trying to convince a one-man audience,” a senior Israeli official told Axios, referring to Trump, clarifying that members of Trump’s administration, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, no longer favor Netanyahu. “He has lost them.”

The report compared it to the “bickering” between the US and Israel under the Biden administration, with officials from the two countries now arguing over tactical issues such as the long-delayed opening of the Rafah Crossing between Egypt and Gaza.

The ceasefire plan’s first phase, which Israel and Hamas agreed to in the October deal, consists of the initial ceasefire, a limited pullback by the Israel Defense Forces, a hostage-prisoner swap, and a surge in humanitarian aid.

Both sides accuse the other of violating the terms of the first phase: Hamas has yet to return the body of one hostage, Sgt. Ran Gvili, while Israel has refused to open the Rafah Crossing in both directions, agreeing only to allow movement out of the Strip.

Israel and Hamas have not formally signed on to the second phase of the deal. It is supposed to see the establishment of a Palestinian technocratic government for the Strip, overseen by a Trump-led Board of Peace, as well as the deployment of an International Stabilization Force as the IDF’s presence in the Strip is phased out.

It also advances the decommissioning of Hamas’s weapons and the demilitarization of Gaza, though Hamas has vocally refused to lay down its arms.

Axios said the White House wants to move quickly to unveil the new technocratic government for Gaza, backed by the ISF Force, and is even considering convening the Board of Peace at the World Economic Forum in Davos later in January.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner have been coordinating closely with Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey to advance phase two of the deal, which would involve Hamas handing over weapons and Israeli forces pulling back.

Netanyahu, however, has expressed skepticism — particularly regarding the demilitarization of Gaza — and has clashed with Witkoff and Kushner over the plan, Axios reported.

“It is not clear whether Trump is in the same place Witkoff and Kushner are,” the senior Israeli official said.

According to the report, White House officials also voiced growing frustration over Israeli actions they see as undermining the ceasefire, including IDF operations that Washington believes violate its terms.

“Sometimes we feel the IDF commanders on the ground are just trigger-happy,” one White House official said.

Witkoff and Kushner met in Miami last week with the prime minister of Qatar, the head of Egyptian intelligence, and the Turkish foreign minister — guarantors of the Gaza deal. According to Axios, they mapped out issues to be raised with Netanyahu ahead of the Florida meeting, including calls for Israel to adhere to the ceasefire and avoid civilian casualties.

Trump is also expected to raise concerns over the West Bank, including fears of a Palestinian Authority collapse, settler violence, and withheld Palestinian tax revenues.

The Trump plan calls for the PA to complete a “reform program,” and says that governance of Gaza could eventually be handed over to it, if and when the program has been completed. Israel, however, has consistently opposed any role in postwar Gaza for the PA, and has accused the body of backing terrorism.

In Miami, the guarantors agreed to advance the establishment of the Palestinian technocratic government to take over day-to-day administration from Hamas, with the goal of convincing the terror group — and others in the Strip — that it is the sole government in the territory, Axios reported.

Demilitarization of Gaza will progress in stages, beginning with missiles and rockets, and then lighter arms, a White House official told Axios. The planned International Stabilization Force could be invited by the technocratic government to help in the process.

The mandate for the ISF has yet to be cemented, but by all accounts, it will not include direct combat with Hamas if the terror group refuses to disarm.

“We don’t see the results of the meeting in Miami as positive,” an Israeli official told Axios.

While the White House believes Israel has significant opportunities in the region, it is also concerned about the damage to the country’s international standing after two years of war, the report said.

“We need to help them normalize with the UK before we help them normalize with Saudi Arabia,” a White House official told Axios.