Washington DC - President Donald Trump insisted on Monday that his relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "very good" despite the Israeli leader's rejection of a US-led Gaza plan.
"The relationship is very good," Trump said in response to a shouted question from a journalist at the end of an Oval Office event.
After more than a week of gradually escalating criticism, Netanyahu explicitly stated on Sunday that he opposed the Gaza plan, which called for Israel to begin pulling back forces in tandem with disarmament by Hamas.
Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving leader, is running even or trailing in some polls ahead of October 27 elections, the country's first since the start of the Gaza assault in October 2023.
Polls show that the Gaza plan is unpopular with Netanyahu's right-wing base, and far-right members of his cabinet had urged him to kill it.
Netanyahu until recently campaigned on the strength of his relationship with Trump, who has taken unprecedented steps to back Israel, including moving the US embassy to Jerusalem.
Trump joined Netanyahu in late February in launching a war against Iran, but the two diverged when Trump sought a ceasefire and subsequent settlement to the conflict as it sapped his popularity and sent oil prices soaring.
The Gaza plan was the latest stage in a US-brokered ceasefire announced in October that has reduced, but not ended, Israel's deadly operations there.
Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed more than 1,250 Palestinian people since the ceasefire, according to the territory's health ministry.
Israel's assault has been deemed a genocide by numerous human rights organizations and experts, while Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court on accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.