Trump says reconstruction of Gaza will begin ‘soon’ as he meets Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago – live

Netanyahu says of his relationship with Trump:

We’ve never had a friend by President Trump in the White House.

It’s not even close. And I think you can judge that by the not merely by the frequency of our meetings, but by the content and the intensity.

I think Israel is very blessed to have President Trump leading the United States, and I’ll say leading the free world, at this time.

I think it’s not merely Israel’s great fortune. I think it’s the world’s great fortune.

Asked about Russia’s accusation that Ukraine tried to attack Vladimir Putin’s residence in northern Russia, which Kyiv has denied, Trump says:

I don’t like it. It’s not good. I heard about it this morning … President Putin told me about it … He said he was attacked, it’s no good.

He adds:

It’s one thing to be offensive, because they’re offensive. It’s another thing to attack his house. It’s not the right time to do any of that … I was very angry about it.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenksyy has described the claim as “typical Russian lies”, and said Moscow was using “dangerous statements” to undermine “diplomatic efforts” with the US to end its invasion of his country.

Asked about Ran Gvili, the last hostage still inside Gaza after being taken captive by Hamas and whose parents have accompanied Netanyahu to Florida to meet Trump, the US president says:

We’re doing everything we can to get his body back.

Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu speak to reporters ahead of a meeting at Mar-a-Lago.

Trump says the US “hit” a dock area in Venezuela where he alleged drugs were loaded onto boats.

“There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs. They load the boats up with drugs. We hit all the boats, and now we hit the area,” Trump says, without providing any further details.

Trump says there are “five major subjects” he and Netanyahu will be discussing, and Gaza will be one of them.

Trump adds in response to another question that he thinks the reconstruction of Gaza would begin “pretty soon”.

Asked about Iran, Trump says:

I hear that Iran is trying to build up again, and if they are, we’re going to have to knock them down, we’ll knock them down, we’ll knock the hell out of them.

But hopefully that’s not happening. I heard Iran wants to make a deal. If they want to make a deal, that’s much smarter.

You know, they could have made a deal the last time, before we did a big attack on them.

I think, again, they should make a deal. They want to make a deal. But sometimes that doesn’t happen.

Trump says he had “a very good talk” with Putin at 8am ET this morning.

He reiterates that there are “a few very thorny issues” that he hopes they will get resolved.

Asked how quickly he hopes to move to phase two of the Gaza ceasefire plan, Trump says: “As quickly as we can.” But, he adds, Hamas has to disarm.

As quickly as we can, but there has to be a disarmament. We have to disarm with Hamas. It’s one of the things we’ll talk about certainly, but there has to be a disarming of Hamas.

Otherwise, very quickly.

Asked by reporters if he’ll green light another attack on Iran, Trump doesn’t answer. In fact, he stands there for an awkward amount of time, before taking another question.

Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived, Trump greets him with a handshake and they stop for pictures.

“Does anyone recognize this man?” Trump jokes.

Earlier, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US secretary of state Marco Rubio and, in another meeting, with defense secretary Pete Hegseth, in Florida, ahead of his meeting with Trump, due to begin shortly.

In US politics news, Marjorie Taylor Greene, now just days away from stepping down as a congresswoman for Georgia, has said in her latest mea culpa interview that she “was just so naive” for believing that Donald Trump was a man of the people.

In a lengthy interview with the New York Times that examines her break with the president after years of devotion, Greene explained that a series of minor ruptures with the president culminated in a total breach after conservative influencer Charlie Kirk was killed in September.

The third-term Georgia congresswoman said she was watching Kirk’s memorial service on TV when his widow Erika said she forgave her husband’s killer. But then Trump took the stage to say that unlike Kirk – “a missionary with a noble spirit” who did not “hate” his opponents, Trump said he disagreed.

“I hate my opponent, and I don’t want the best for them,” Trump said.

Greene said: “That was absolutely the worst statement. It just shows where his heart is. And that’s the difference, with her having a sincere Christian faith, and proves that he does not have any faith.”

Green said that her turn away from unrepentant Maga acolyte came in that moment and she abandoned her training “to never apologize and to never admit when you’re wrong”.

“As a Christian, I don’t believe in doing that,” she said. “I agree with Erika Kirk, who did the hardest thing possible and said it out loud.” Greene said she later told a friend that after Kirk died, “I realized that I’m part of this toxic culture. I really started looking at my faith. I wanted to be more like Christ.”

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