Former US President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Wednesday spoke on the phone with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and discussed the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, two US sources who were briefed on the call told Barak Ravid of Axios.
The call took place a day before a summit in Doha on Thursday, in which senior US, Qatari, Egyptian and Israeli officials will try to close the remaining gaps between Israel and Hamas.
Last week, the leaders of the US, Egypt and Qatar issued a statement calling on Israel and Hamas to hold a summit to finalize the deal.
While Israel said it would take part in the summit, Hamas announced on Sunday that it refuses to send representatives to the negotiations.
The talks are expected to revolve around the three-phase proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal which President Joe Biden outlined in late May.
One source told Axios that Trump's call on Wednesday was intended to encourage Netanyahu to take the deal, but stressed he didn't know if this is indeed what the former President told Netanyahu.
The Prime Minister's Office didn't deny that the call took place. The Trump campaign declined to comment.
Trump met Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago resort last month, during Netanyahu’s visit to Washington which also included his address to Congress and meetings with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. During that meeting, Trump said the situation with the hostages is very tough and that they have to be returned immediately.
Earlier that month, during his address to the Republican National Convention, Trump called on Hamas to release the hostages it is holding before he returns to office, “or you will be paying a very big price”.