Trump administration wants Israel ‘to come to its senses’ and strike a ceasefire deal on Gaza, Israeli media reports.

A senior United States official has reportedly warned that Washington could move forward with its deal with Saudi Arabia without Israeli involvement, unless Israel changes course, according to Israeli media.

The Jerusalem Post reported that the unnamed official met on Monday with families of captives still held in Gaza. During the meeting, the official said President Donald Trump is increasingly frustrated with Israel’s stance on the stalled ceasefire talks.

Trump intends to press ahead with the Saudi deal regardless of Israel’s position, said the report on Wednesday.

The US president is expected to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates next week. Meanwhile, Israel’s ambassador to Washington is lobbying the White House to add a brief stop in Israel, two Israeli officials told Axios.

According to The Jerusalem Post, the US official told attendees Israel could face “a much heavier price” if it continues to oppose a ceasefire deal.

“President Trump is determined to move forward with a significant deal with Saudi Arabia, even without Israeli involvement,” the official reportedly said. “The ceasefire agreement with the Houthis is just a prelude. If Israel doesn’t come to its senses, even the ‘Deal of the Millennium’ will happen without it.”

The report said families of the captives hoped the meeting would result in greater international pressure on Israeli leaders to act. Some attendees said they were alarmed by the unusually blunt tone from the official as Washington has long been viewed as Israel’s closest diplomatic ally.

The Trump administration has sought to realign regional alliances, focusing on normalising ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia. “We hope Israel will board the historic train that has already left the station,” the US official reportedly said. “But the US will not wait at the platform.”

The official also echoed concerns from the families that ongoing Israeli military operations could endanger the captives.

What is the proposed US-Saudi-Israel deal?

The proposed US-Saudi Arabia-Israel deal aims to normalise ties between Riyadh and Tel Aviv in what would mark a historic diplomatic shift, brokered by Washington.

Building on the controversial 2020 Abraham Accords, the agreement would see Saudi Arabia formally recognise Israel – abandoning its long-held demand for a full Israeli withdrawal from occupied Palestinian territory as outlined in the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.

In return, the US would offer Saudi Arabia a defence pact and access to advanced weapons, while urging Riyadh to scale back its growing ties with China and Russia.

Another pillar of the deal includes US support for a Saudi civil nuclear programme, though disagreements over uranium enrichment remain unresolved.

While Saudi Arabia originally insisted on concrete steps towards a two-state solution for Palestinians, recent reports suggest Riyadh may settle for symbolic concessions – such as freezing settlement expansion – if the US offers enough in return.

The crushing loss drops Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr down to fourth in the Saudi league ladder, 11 points behind Al-Ittihad in the title race.

Houssem Aouar scored a last-minute goal to help Al-Ittihad complete a comeback and secure a 3-2 win over Al-Nassr, taking them a step closer to clinching the Saudi Pro League title.

Sadio Mane opened the scoring on Wednesday for the home side after three minutes with a low strike.

The Senegal international then assisted Ayman Yahya to make it 2-0 for Al-Nassr in the 37th minute. The goal stood following a VAR review, even though the ball had touched Mane’s hand in the build-up.

Al-Ittihad were the better side after the interval and Karim Benzema reduced the deficit with a header in the 49th minute.

Laurent Blanc’s side equalised after a counterattack, finished off by N’Golo Kante, who slotted the ball into Al-Nassr’s net.

Algeria international Aouar scored the game-winner for Al-Ittihad in added time from close range following a cross by Moussa Diaby.

Al-Ittihad, who can clinch the domestic double after reaching the King Cup final, extended their lead to 71 points, six ahead of Al-Hilal, with four games remaining.

For Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr, now fourth with 60 points, the loss was a setback to their hopes of reaching the AFC Champions League elite next season, with only two teams qualifying from the league after Al-Ahli of Saudi Arabia won the continental title last Saturday.

PodcastPodcast, The Take

Israel bombed Sanaa airport and Hodeidah port after Houthi missiles hit near Tel Aviv, prompting fears of wider war.

Israel bombed Yemen’s Sanaa airport and the Hodeidah port within 24 hours, as tensions have been escalating in response to Israel’s war on Gaza. On Sunday, the Houthis launched missiles that landed near Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. What does it mean for Yemenis facing this escalation?

In this episode:

Maysaa Shuja al-Deen (@maysaashujaa), Yemeni writer and researcher

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Chloe K. Li, Sonia Bhagat, and Sarí el-Khalili with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Khaled Soltan, Kisaa Zehra, Kingwell Ma, Remas Alhawari, Mariana Navarette and our guest host, Natasha Del Toro. It was edited by Noor Wazwaz.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad Al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

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