Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Donald Trump that he was nominating the US president for a Nobel Peace Prize. The pair hailed their recent strikes on Iran's key nuclear facilities. DW has more. Benjamin Netanyahu keen for Donald Trump to get a Nobel Peace Price Netanyahu is on a trip to Washington The Israeli PM said he was against the creation of a Palestinian state Here you can read the headlines from around Gaza, Israel and the wider Middle East on Tuesday, July 8. Netanyahu nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize, hails attacks on Iran Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Donald Trump on Monday that he was nominating the US president for a Nobel Peace Prize as the pair hailed their recent strikes on Iran's key nuclear facilities. Netanyahu and Trump sat down with their top aides for a dinner in Washington to mark the Iran operation and discuss a 60-day ceasefire proposal aimed at halting the 21-month conflict in Gaza. "He's forging peace as we speak, and one country and one region after the other," Netanyahu said as he presented Trump with a nominating letter, adding that he is sending it to the Nobel Peace Prize committee. The development comes after Trump ordered US forces to drop "bunker-buster" bombs and fire a barrage of Tomahawk missiles on three nuclear sites in Iran. In an interview published on Monday, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said the US airstrikes so badly damaged nuclear facilities that Iranian authorities have not been able to access them. Netanyahu's outwardly triumphant visit to the White House, his third this year, is dogged byIsrael's war against Hamas in Gaza and questions over how hard Trump will push for an end to the conflict. But in an exchange before the dinner got underway, both Trump and Netanyahu expressed optimism that their success in Iran would mark a new era in the Middle East. "I think things are going to be really settled down a lot in the Middle East," Trump said. "And, they respect us and they respect Israel." Negotiations had started in April but were scuttled after Israel began its operations last month. "We have scheduled Iran talks, and they want to," Trump told reporters. "They want to talk." He said last week that the talks would restart soon. Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, sitting at the table with Trump, said the meeting would be soon, perhaps in a week, but Iran has yet to confirm the arrangement. Netanyahu says against independent Palestinian state Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he wanted peace with Palestinians, but described any future independent Palestinian state as a platform to destroy Israel. Speaking in Washington, where he met with US President Donald Trump, Netanyahu described the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip, where Hamas was in control, as evidence of what Palestinians would do with a state. Trump said he didn't know if a two-state solution was possible and passed the question over to Netanyahu, who said: "I think the Palestinians should have all the powers to govern themselves, but none of the powers to threaten us. That means a sovereign power, like overall security, will always remain in our hands." Hamas wants ceasefire agreement — Trump Donald Trump said late on Monday that Hamas is keen on having a ceasefire with Israel amid theongoing Gaza conflict. "They [Hamas] want to meet and they want to have that ceasefire," Trump said at the start of a White House dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said there was an opportunity to reach an agreement quickly. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said that Witkoff "intends to travel to Doha later this week" to participate in the mediation talks. Leavitt heaped praise on Qatar and Egypt for being "incredibly helpful partners in mediating these negotiations and discussions to bring peace to this region and end this conflict once and for all." Welcome to our coverage Hello and welcome to DW's coverage of developments in the Middle East on Monday, July 8, 2025. US President Donald Trump said that he believed that Hamas wants to negotiate a ceasefire agreement with Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is nominating Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize as the two dined together in Washington. The two leaders hailed recent joint attacks on Iran.