Trump scolds Netanyahu over Gaza talks: “You’re always negative.”
When Hamas responded to President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace proposal on Friday with what sources described as a “yes, but” — a conditional acceptance rather than outright rejection — the former president saw it as a breakthrough. Eager to capitalize on what he viewed as a rare moment of progress in the long, bloody conflict, Trump immediately picked up the phone to call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump’s tone, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the exchange, was upbeat and confident. He believed this was a sign that Hamas, after months of war and devastation, was finally ready to talk seriously about peace. In Trump’s mind, it was proof that his pressure and diplomacy were working. But on the other end of the line, Netanyahu was far from convinced.
official said. “He said it doesn’t mean anything, that Hamas was just playing for time.” Netanyahu’s view was that the militant group’s response was merely tactical — a way to ease international pressure without making real concessions. To him, Hamas’s “yes, but” was just another diplomatic trick, not a turning point.
Trump didn’t take that well. “This is a win. Take it.”
It was a classic Trump moment — blunt, impatient, and unwilling to let skepticism dampen his optimism. Those close to him say he’s been laser-focused on delivering what he hopes could be one of his biggest foreign policy achievements: brokering an end to the Gaza war. For Trump, it’s both a legacy play and a campaign talking point — proof, in his view, that only he can deliver “the deal of the century.”
Netanyahu, however, has been wary. After nearly a year of fighting, his political survival in Israel depends heavily on projecting toughness against Hamas. Any move that might look like compromise risks backlash from his right-wing coalition, which wants to continue the military campaign until Hamas is completely destroyed. To Netanyahu, Trump’s enthusiasm for a deal feels dangerously premature.
For Trump, that caution sounds like defeatism. “He wants to close the deal, not manage another endless war,” said a second U.S. official. “In his mind, if Hamas is even talking — that’s leverage. That’s something you can work with.”
The sharp exchange between the two longtime political allies underscores the widening gap between Washington’s push for an immediate ceasefire and Israel’s insistence on total victory. Trump has long prided himself on his relationship with Netanyahu, but those ties have grown strained since their public falling-out after the 2020 U.S. election.
Still, Friday’s phone call shows Trump hasn’t given up trying to bring Netanyahu around. People close to the former president say he sees himself as uniquely positioned to deliver a breakthrough — someone who can talk tough to both sides and still claim credit for peace if it happens.
Whether that optimism is justified remains to be seen. For now, Hamas’s “yes, but” response remains just that — conditional, vague, and without firm commitments. Netanyahu’s skepticism may yet prove right. But Trump’s instinct to seize on any sign of movement, to push forward despite resistance, remains unmistakably his own.
In the end, the call captured two men at odds not just over tactics, but over temperament: one cautious and calculating, the other bold and relentless. And in the middle of it all — Gaza, still waiting for peace that seems just out of reach.