Israeli Media: Trump Told Netanyahu To ‘Permanently End War in Gaza’

There's no indication from the reports that Trump is considering cutting off US military aid, which would force Israel to stop the slaughter

Israeli media is reporting that President Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call on Monday that he must “permanently end the war in the Gaza Strip.”

According to The Times of Israel, which cited reports from two Israeli TV stations, Trump told Netanyahu that a deal that’s been on the table for a temporary 60-day truce wouldn’t suffice.

A source told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that Trump told the Israeli leader that the onslaught in Gaza should come to an end “the sooner the better.” But none of the reports indicated that Trump is willing to leverage military aid and threaten to cut it off, which would force Israel to end its genocidal slaughter.

Trump and Netanyahu at the White House on April 7, 2025 (White House photo)

Israeli officials have acknowledged that without US military support, Israel wouldn’t be able to sustain operations in Gaza for more than a few months. According to Haaretz, US aid has funded about 70% of Israel’s war-related military spending since October 7, 2023.

US military aid has not only fueled the slaughter in Gaza but also Israel’s escalations in the West Bank, its invasion of southern Syria, its constant ceasefire violations in Lebanon, and several rounds of airstrikes on Yemen and Iran.

The Israeli reports also said that Trump asked Netanyahu to stop threatening to bomb Iran, saying it wasn’t helpful for US efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Tehran. According to Axios, Trump said that he still wanted to pursue diplomacy with Iran, at least for now. The president has been publicly threatening that if an agreement isn’t reached, the US will bomb Iran despite a lack of evidence that Tehran is seeking a nuclear weapon.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.