JERUSALEM, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed for an official visit to Washington on Sunday, calling the trip a "great opportunity" to expand the circle of peace in the Middle East.
Speaking before boarding his flight, Netanyahu said there were new prospects for Israel to reach normalization agreements with Arab countries "far beyond what we could previously imagine."
Netanyahu has made expanding normalization efforts a central goal of his foreign policy. Under the 2020 Abraham Accords, Israel signed normalization agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. The country has peace agreements also with Egypt and Jordan.
"We have already transformed the face of the Middle East beyond recognition," he said, referring to Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip and the cross-border fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as conflicts with Iran, Yemen and Syria.
Earlier on Sunday, an Israeli delegation was sent to Qatar to resume indirect negotiations with Hamas over a ceasefire-for-hostages deal, according to an Israeli official.
Netanyahu said the delegation had received "clear instructions" to work toward a ceasefire under terms already accepted by Israel. He added that his upcoming meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump "can certainly help promote the outcome we all hope for."
Netanyahu's visit to Washington, which begins Monday, is his third since Trump returned to office in January.
The trip comes amid growing public pressure in Israel for a long-term ceasefire that would end the war in Gaza and secure the return of around 50 hostages, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive. Meanwhile, Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners have pushed him to continue the military campaign and establish a permanent Israeli control over parts of the Palestinian enclave.
Hamas announced on Friday it had responded "in a positive spirit" to a U.S.-backed proposal for a 60-day truce. Trump said Israel had agreed "to the necessary conditions to finalize" the deal.
Since Israel resumed its military campaign in Gaza on March 18, at least 6,860 Palestinians have been killed and 24,220 others wounded, according to figures released Sunday by Gaza health authorities. That brings the total death toll in Gaza since the war began in October 2023 to 57,418, with 136,261 injured. ■