WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he hopes a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will be reached soon.

"We hope (a ceasefire) is going to happen and we're looking for it to happen sometime next week," Trump told reporters before departing the White House for the opening of a temporary migrant detention center in the state of Florida.

Trump said he will discuss Gaza and Iran with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next week in Washington, DC.

"He's coming here. We're going to talk about a lot of things. We're going to talk about the great success we had in Iran ... We're also going to talk about Gaza," he said.

His remarks came after Netanyahu confirmed that he will visit Washington next week for talks with US officials.

"I am due to leave next week for meetings in the US with US President Donald Trump," Netanyahu said in a statement ahead of a Cabinet meeting.

Netanyahu said he will also meet with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

"We have several items to close beforehand in order to reach the trade agreement and several additional matters; meetings with Congressional and Senate leaders and security meetings, which I will not detail here," Netanyahu said.

'I think we'll have a deal next week'

After landing in Florida, Trump was asked how firm he is going to be with Netanyahu about ending the war in Gaza.

"Very firm," he said. "He (Netanyahu) wants to end it, too ... I think we'll have a deal next week.”

Despite international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has killed more than 56,600 Palestinians in a deadly onslaught in Gaza since October 2023.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.