A matter of revenge: Netanyahu seeks Trump's approval for new strikes on Iran and Hamas

At least five major topics, including the peace process in the Gaza Strip, were on the agenda of the talks between American President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This is the fifth time in a year that he has arrived in the United States. Netanyahu's important task is to get the American president to approve new attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities and on Hamas, according to media leaks. Trump and the Israeli Prime Minister may have different approaches to a peaceful settlement in the Gaza Strip, experts say. Why Netanyahu is not determined to maintain stability in the region and what kind of support he expects from the United States is in the Izvestia article.

The likelihood of a new strike on Iran

Donald Trump's Christmas vacation at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida is reminiscent of busy working days. On December 28, the American president was disturbed by Vladimir Zelensky, and on the 29th, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the estate. According to media reports, Netanyahu requested the meeting himself, and this is the fifth time in a year that he has traveled to the United States for talks with Trump. Before her, the Israeli prime Minister managed to talk with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, but the details of the conversation are not given.

Addressing reporters immediately before the start of the talks, Donald Trump said that he intends to discuss five major topics with Netanyahu, and Gas is just one of them. He also noted that even before the official start of the meeting, he managed to talk with the Israeli prime minister for five minutes, and during that time he was able to solve at least three problems.

Ahead of the talks, the media confidently stated that one of the key topics of the meeting would be Israeli policy towards Iran. Officials of the Jewish state believe that Tehran is actively working to restore its arsenal of ballistic missiles, which from the point of view of Israel poses a threat to the existence of their state. In this regard, Netanyahu wants to enlist Trump's support for launching a new series of attacks on the Islamic Republic.

"I hear that Iran is trying to build up [nuclear capabilities] again, and if that's the case, we'll have to stop them. We'll stop them. We'll beat the crap out of them. But I hope this is not happening," the American president said before the meeting with Netanyahu.

Tested by the burden: the second stage of the Gas deal is stalling

Israel and Hamas cannot reach a compromise on key issues

Israel's 12-day operation against Iran to eliminate their nuclear infrastructure, the Rising Lion, officially ended on June 25. During this time, the Jewish state has fired more than 550 ballistic missiles towards Iran. The IDF has managed, though not significantly, to weaken Iran's missile production capacity. In Tehran, they are sure that they won the war. On the evening of June 24, Iran's Supreme National Security Council declared that the "God-given victory of the nation" had made the opposing side regret its actions and "admit defeat."

— Israel is not completely satisfied with the results of the June war, as it expected to inflict much greater damage on Iran, as well as provoke the local society to collapse the system from within. Since none of these goals have been achieved, Netanyahu's cabinet is trying to push for revenge. In particular, to raise their ratings and distract attention from another major corruption investigation ("Catargate")," orientalist Leonid Tsukanov told Izvestia.

As for the United States, Washington does not yet have an unambiguous position on the resumption of the conflict with Iran, the expert notes.

— On the one hand, Trump is trying to distance himself from the problems of the Middle East, but at the same time he does not want to leave Israel alone with his problems. Washington is also interested in retaining the prime minister's chair for Netanyahu, since the opposition is more sympathetic to the Democrats," Tsukanov continues.

At the same time, the support of the United States is not absolutely necessary for Israel in order to make a decision on launching strikes against Iran, said Ivan Bocharov, INF program manager.

— Israel is convinced that a window of opportunity is opening for solving the Iranian problem. It is not so much the missile or nuclear threat that motivates the strikes, but rather the fact that, due to the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, damage was inflicted on Hezbollah and the axis of resistance as a whole. Netanyahu wants to further weaken Iran and undermine its military and political potential. Israel sees Iran's policy as an existential threat to the Jewish state. Therefore, the weaker Iran is under the current ruling regime, the better it is for Israel," the expert said.

The second stage of the settlement in the Gaza Strip

By drawing Donald Trump's attention to the Iranian threat, Netanyahu also wants to distract the United States from continuing a peaceful settlement in the Gaza Strip. This is stated, in particular, by the head of the Egyptian State Information Service, Zia Rashwan. According to him, Netanyahu is trying by all means to sabotage the second phase of the agreement.

It is likely that at the meeting with Trump, Netanyahu planned to seek approval for the latest show of force against Hamas, CNN claims.

The agreement on the settlement in Gaza was one of Donald Trump's main peacekeeping victories in 2025. In early December, Benjamin Netanyahu reported that the first phase of the US plan was nearing completion. It included a cease-fire, a partial withdrawal of Israeli troops, increased humanitarian aid to Gaza, and the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners and prisoners. The states, in turn, said that the second stage should begin in the first or second week of January. But first we need to disarm Hamas, Trump said before starting talks with Netanyahu.

Both conflicting sides accuse each other of serious violations of the ceasefire. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, about 400 people were killed after the agreement was concluded.

— Israel wants to expand its permanent presence in the Palestinian exclave (including restoring some outpost settlements), while Trump seeks to defuse the conflict as much as possible and consolidate the new status quo. It is not yet included in the plans of the Republicans to resume tensions around Gaza," Tsukanov believes.

Foreign media sources claim that the authorities of the Jewish state do not yet have a clear desire to move on to the second stage of a peaceful settlement. This is also due to administrative risks for Netanyahu, whose tenure as prime minister was largely ensured by the need to continue the fight against Hamas and other enemies of the Jewish state in the Middle East.

One step ahead: Israel has increased its control zone in the Gaza Strip to 58%

How life is complicated for Palestinians in the exclave

In response to pressure from the United States to implement the second phase of the peace plan, Netanyahu may well refer to the need to return the body of the last hostage from Hamas captivity. The Israeli authorities also fear that Washington may demand that the peace process continue without disarming Hamas.

— The United States and Israel may have different approaches to the process of peaceful settlement of the conflict in the Gaza Strip. In general, Israel is satisfied with Trump's peace plan, judging by official statements. But Trump may call for greater restraint because he wants to position himself as a peacemaker, and Israel, if Hamas does not disarm or there are some other problems, may resort to force," said Ivan Bocharov.

Netanyahu's trip to the United States comes amid Israel's decision to recognize the independence of self-proclaimed Somaliland in the Horn of Africa. The Jewish state is currently the only country that has taken this step, which is causing concern in the UN, the EU, the African Union and the Arab League. Ankara's reaction was particularly acute: the official representative of the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that the actions of the Israeli authorities were aimed at preventing the recognition of Palestine by the international community.