US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to end the war in Gaza, adding he will take a “very firm” position on that goal when discussing and meeting with him.

Trump told reporters Tuesday that he hopes a ceasefire can be reached before Netanyahu’s visit, aiming for it to happen sometime next week as he prepared to depart for Florida. Reaffirming his comments from Saturday, he said, “We think, within the next week, we’re going to get a ceasefire” in Gaza.

Earlier, Trump called on Israel to reach a deal in Gaza. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump and officials are in constant contact with Israeli leaders and that ending the Gaza conflict is a priority because the US president “wants to save lives.”

Meanwhile, Netanyahu said in a statement that he is “due to leave next week for meetings in the US with US President Donald Trump.” He added that the meetings follow “the great victory that we achieved in Operation Rising Lion.”

Netanyahu was the first foreign leader to visit Trump in his second term in February and returned again in April.

The scheduled meeting comes as Gaza’s civil defense agency reported that at least 51 people were killed by Israeli forces on Monday, including 24 who died in a strike on a seafront rest area.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar warned on Monday that Israel would resort to military force if a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement is not reached in Gaza. Meanwhile, Hamas accused Israel of delaying talks. Taher al-Nunu said negotiations with Egypt and Qatar have “intensified” and stressed Hamas’s readiness for a deal including a ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal, humanitarian aid access, and prisoner exchange.