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U.S. President Donald Trump urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to move forward with his Gaza plan following Israel’s parliamentary election, Channel 12 reported Sunday, citing two sources familiar with their conversation.
Trump delivered the message during a phone call with Netanyahu on Thursday, saying he wanted progress regardless of which government ultimately takes office in Israel.
The plan includes transferring Gaza’s administration to a Palestinian technocratic committee, placing weapons under international supervision, deploying an international stabilization force, carrying out a phased Israeli withdrawal and beginning reconstruction.
Implementation had largely been frozen for months during Israel’s election campaign because Washington wanted to avoid turning the plan into a politically sensitive domestic issue, according to the report.
A senior U.S. official said the Trump administration now expects Israel to approve steps that had been delayed for political reasons.
“We want to move forward cooperatively, and we need full cooperation and full partnership from the Israeli government,” the official said.
The official said implementation would be difficult but argued the plan remained beneficial for Israel.
Gaza reconstruction would not begin without progress toward disarming Hamas, the official added, saying the disarmament process would be gradual and subject to full verification.
Netanyahu has remained skeptical that Hamas would carry out its disarmament commitments and has argued that the group is rearming and rebuilding its capabilities in Gaza.
The first phase of Trump’s Gaza plan, announced in 2025, included a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
The second phase calls for Gaza to be governed by a new Palestinian technocratic administration, backed by an international stabilization force.
Trump’s Board of Peace has worked for months on implementation details and in July reached a 15-point agreement with Hamas covering the disarmament of armed groups and the transfer of civilian and security control to the new Palestinian administration, according to the report.
In September, on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, the board presented an initial six-month, $2.45 billion Gaza reconstruction plan covering 66 projects.
The plan requires cooperation from both Israel and Hamas.
A source familiar with the discussions said the Trump administration, the Board of Peace and Israel agreed the plan remained the best available path forward and that there was no credible alternative.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff also participated in Thursday’s call, which was initiated by Netanyahu and also covered the war with Iran.
A source described the discussion on Gaza as positive and constructive.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a senior member of the Board of Peace, visited Israel the following day and met Netanyahu, opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot and other political figures.
Blair urged Israeli leaders to support the Gaza plan and give it a chance, according to a source familiar with the meetings.
The latest U.S. push comes as Israel faces uncertainty over the formation of a new government following its Oct. 27 parliamentary election.
Since October 2023, the Israeli military has killed more than 74,000 people and wounded over 175,000 in Gaza, leaving much of the territory in ruins.
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