Though Critical on Gaza, Trump Cites Good Relations With Netanyahu

Former President Donald J. Trump, who for months has urged Israel to end the war in the Gaza Strip as quickly as possible, said that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel remained on good terms after the two met on Friday, and that he would be a stronger ally of Israel than Vice President Kamala Harris.

Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Trump, who met in Palm Beach, Fla., were close allies during Mr. Trump’s presidency, but their ties became strained after the 2020 election. Asked by a reporter after their meeting if the two would have to rebuild their ties if he won in November, Mr. Trump said, “We don’t have to; we’ve had a good relationship.”

The former president and Republican nominee greeted the Israeli leader warmly at his Mar-a-Lago estate and called his presumptive opponent, Ms. Harris, “radical” and not “very nice” to Israel. Even so, Mr. Netanyahu faces growing international criticism and pressure over Israel’s war effort, and his trip to shore up support fought against strong headwinds.

Mr. Trump, in a Fox News interview on Thursday, said of the war in Gaza: “It can’t continue to go on like this. It’s too long. It’s too much.” Ms. Harris and President Biden met with Mr. Netanyahu on Thursday, and pressed, as they have for months, for a cease-fire that would provide for the release of hostages held by Hamas.

Ms. Harris said after her meeting that she had voiced to the prime minister her “unwavering commitment” to Israel’s security and “my serious concern about the scale of human suffering in Gaza, including the death of far too many innocent civilians.”