Speaking on Moday at a joint White House press conference, Trump said they were "beyond very close" to an elusive peace deal but he warned the Islamist group that Israel would have full US support to take whatever action it deemed necessary if the militants reject what he has offered.
While Netanyahu met Trump for pivotal talks, the White House released a 20-point document that calls for a ceasefire, an exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, a staged Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, Hamas disarmament and a transitional government led by an international body.
"I also want to thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for agreeing to the plan and for trusting that if we work together, we can bring an end to the death and destruction that we've seen for so many years, decades, even centuries and begin a new chapter of security, peace and prosperity for the entire region," Trump said.
In Netanyahu's fourth visit to the White House since Trump returned to office in January, the right-wing Israeli leader was looking to shore up his country's most important relationship after a slew of Western leaders formally embraced Palestinian statehood last week in defiance of the US and Israel.
Trump, who sharply criticised the recognition moves as a prize for Hamas, was seeking Netanyahu's agreement despite Israel's misgivings on parts of the plan.
It marked a stepped-up diplomatic effort from the US president, who vowed during the 2024 presidential campaign to quickly bring the conflict to a close and has since repeatedly claimed that a peace deal was near, only for it to fail to materialise.
Hamas' apparent absence from the negotiations has raised questions about the prospects for the latest initiative.
Without Hamas, that could be the fate of the latest effort as well. The Islamist militant Palestinian group, which triggered the war with its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, still holds 48 hostages, 20 of them still alive, Israel says.
"Hamas hasn't yet received the plan officially, nothing beyond media publication," a Hamas official told Reuters.
Trump ended what was originally billed as a press conference without taking questions, a rare decision for a president who often speaks to reporters off-the-cuff.
Netanyahu, while praising Trump as a friend of Israel, appeared to put some distance between himself and some of the items in Trump's peace plan, including the reforms being demanded of the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority.
It was not immediately clear whether the Trump administration and Israel had resolved all their differences.
Previous US-backed ceasefire efforts have fallen apart due to a failure to bridge the gap between Israel and Hamas, and Netanyahu has vowed to continue fighting until Hamas is completely dismantled.
Washington presented its peace plan to Arab and Muslim states on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last week, and Trump's main objective on Monday was to close the remaining gaps with Netanyahu.
Israel has launched one of its biggest offensives of the war earlier in September, with Netanyahu saying he aims to wipe out Hamas in its final redoubts. The war has left much of Gaza in ruins and caused a major humanitarian crisis.
The question of eventual Palestinian statehood, which Netanyahu has vowed never to let happen, was among the main sticking points to Netanyahu's acceptance of Trump's initiative, according to a source close to the talks.
