By Maayan Lubell and Jeff Mason
JERUSALEM/WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump about developments in Syria and a recent push to secure the release of Israeli and foreign hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, he said on Sunday.
Netanyahu said he spoke with Trump on Saturday night about the issue, which will loom large as one of the main foreign challenges facing Trump when he takes office if it is not resolved before he is sworn in on Jan. 20.
Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and abducted more than 250, including Israeli-American dual nationals, during their Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, according to Israeli tallies. More than 100 hostages have been freed through negotiations or Israeli military rescue operations. Of the 100 still held in Gaza, roughly half are believed to be alive.
Israel’s response has killed almost 45,000 people, mostly civilians, according to authorities in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, displaced nearly the entire population and left much of the enclave in ruins.
Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, warned last week during a visit to the region that it would “not be a pretty day” if the hostages held in Gaza were not released before Trump’s inauguration.
Trump said earlier this month there would be “hell to pay” in the Middle East if the hostages were not released before he came into office.
A Trump spokesperson on Sunday declined to give further details about the call.
A bid by Egypt, Qatar and the United States to reach a truce that would also include a hostage deal has gained momentum in recent weeks.
Netanyahu said he had spoken with Trump about efforts to secure a hostage release. “We discussed the need to complete Israel’s victory and we spoke at length about the efforts we are making to free our hostages,” he said.
President Joe Biden’s outgoing administration is working hard to achieve a deal. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who was in the region last week, said on Thursday he believed a deal on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release may be close, and deputy national security adviser Jon Finer told Reuters there was momentum in the process.
Netanyahu said he and Trump had also discussed the situation in Syria following the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on Syria’s strategic weapons stockpiles in the days since Assad’s ouster and moved troops into a demilitarised zone inside Syria.
“We have no interest in a conflict with Syria,” Netanyahu said in a statement. Israeli actions in Syria were intended to “thwart the potential threats from Syria and to prevent the takeover of terrorist elements near our border,” he said.
(Reporting by Maayan Lubell and Jeff Mason; Editing by Ross Colvin and Bill Berkrot)