President Trump’s push for a ceasefire in Gaza is testing his bond with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which was on full display this week during the Israeli leader’s third visit to Washington this year.

Even when Trump and Netanyahu have diverged in private, they have usually remained publicly in lockstep — apart from Trump dropping an f-bomb last month during the shaky start of the Israel-Iran ceasefire.

As Trump turns his attention to ending the fighting in Gaza, Netanyahu risks drawing the president’s ire once again.

“The president gets frustrated because he wants this victory of having brought peace,” said Elliott Abrams, U.S. special representative for Iran during Trump’s first term.

“I think when it comes to Gaza, he recognizes that the problem is Hamas. So it's frustrating to him that he can't get the hostages out and get a ceasefire, but he’s not blaming Netanyahu.”

Trump and his top envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, say a deal is close.

“There’s nothing definite about war, Gaza and all the other places, there’s a very good chance of settlement, an agreement this week, maybe next week if not,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday when asked about the progress of his talks with Netanyahu.

Witkoff said Tuesday the two sides were now in “proximity talks,” having whittled their disagreements down to one point. A Palestinian source told the BBC that talks in Doha have stalled over disagreements on the delivery of humanitarian aid and........

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