Incoming Trump administration, Israel coordinate on Middle East strategy

On November 10, President-elect Donald Trump met with Ron Dermer, a close aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

This meeting, which included two Israeli and two US officials, occurred just before Dermer’s follow-up discussions with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

Dermer conveyed messages from Netanyahu to Trump and outlined Israel’s strategies regarding Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran for the two months before Trump assumed office. As reported, Dermer had a separate meeting with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who served as a key Middle East advisor during Trump’s previous administration from 2017 to 2021.

Netanyahu said he had spoken with Trump three times over the last few days, emphasizing their commitment to strengthening the US-Israel alliance. Meanwhile, hopes for a truce in the ongoing Gaza conflict were dampened as Qatar announced it would suspend its role in mediation efforts. However, Israel stated that there had been progress toward a ceasefire in its conflict with Lebanon.

Some analysts believe that with Trump’s recent election victory, the Biden administration may now lack sufficient influence to broker ceasefires between Israel and its adversaries. Trump is set to take office on January 20.

Previously, Trump has repeatedly called on Israel to “complete the job” by destroying Hamas but hasn’t explained how.

To recap, Israel launched the war in response to Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attacks, when militants killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250, with dozens still in Gaza. Israel’s offensive has killed more than 43,000 people, according to Gaza health officials, whose count does not distinguish between civilians and fighters, though they say more than half of the dead are women and children.

By Khagan Isayev