President Isaac Herzog encouraged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to rise above internal objections and be prepared to make “painful” concessions, as the premier headed to Washington for talks on a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza Sunday.

Netanyahu’s rare meeting with the president, who is seen as a uniting societal force, came days after the premier paid his first visit to the hard-hit Kibbutz Nir Oz near the Gaza border — both moves that may be aimed at building support across ideological lines as hawkish hardliners publicly oppose a Gaza agreement being pushed by the US and seen as likely to bolt the coalition if the deal goes ahead.

According to a readout from Herzog’s office, the president stressed the urgency of securing a breakthrough in talks for a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza when he meets with US President Donald Trump on Monday.

“I fully support these efforts, even when they involve difficult, complex, and painful decisions,” Herzog said. “The cost is not simple, but I am confident that the cabinet and the security establishment will rise to the challenge, as they have until now.”

Netanyahu’s office did not comment on the meeting with Herzog.

As Netanyahu headed to Washington, a high-level team of negotiators was making its way to Qatar for indirect talks with Hamas, after the terror group said Friday that it had responded positively to a US- and Israel-backed proposal.

Israel’s delegation to Doha includes government hostage point man Gal Hirsch, Netanyahu’s political adviser Ophir Falk, deputy Shin Bet chief “Mem,” and a senior Mossad official, Army Radio reported.

Mossad chief David Barnea, acting Shin Bet head “Shin,” and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, the senior-most officials who have been involved in talks thus far, were not among the team.

Herzog wished the negotiators success and called on “world leaders and international partners to use their full influence to help achieve a breakthrough.”

“We have no time to waste,” said Herzog.

Hamas on Friday said it had responded “positively” to the framework proposal on the table, which would see about half of the living hostages and about half of the dead hostages held by terror groups in Gaza returned to Israel over 60 days, in five separate releases.

Eight living hostages would be freed on the first day and two released on the 50th day, according to an Arab diplomat from one of the mediating countries. Five slain hostages would be returned on the seventh day, five more on the 30th day and eight more on the 60th day. That would leave 22 hostages still held in Gaza, 10 of them believed to be alive. It is not clear whether Israel or Hamas would determine who is to be released.

A source involved in mediating the talks said Hamas wants the agreement to say that talks on a permanent ceasefire will continue until an agreement is reached; that aid will fully resume through mechanisms backed by the United Nations and other international aid organizations; and that the IDF withdraw to positions it maintained before the collapse of the previous ceasefire in March.

Netanyahu’s office called the demands “unacceptable.”

The previous ceasefire fell apart as Netanyahu refused to negotiate a second phase, which would have required a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and talks on ending the war — a red line for the premier’s far-right coalition partners.

Netanyahu’s right-wing flank insists the war must continue until Hamas is completely destroyed, following the terror group’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, in which some 1,200 people were killed in southern Israel and 251 kidnapped. The position was shared by Netanyahu, but in recent days he has made a number of statements that align with a view that places freeing the hostages, 50 of whom are held in Gaza, paramount.

At the same time, Trump has expressed optimism that the sides could be closing in on a deal, predicting last week that it could be clinched within days.

Gaza is expected to be the main subject under discussion when Netanyahu meets the US president, though the two will also discuss Iran and the possibility of normalizing relations with Syria, according to a US official.

Herzog thanked Trump “for his support in eliminating Iran’s nuclear threat” during the 12-day war there last month, “and for his unwavering support for Israel.”

He and Netanyahu also discussed “opportunities to deepen ties with additional countries, in the spirit of Trump’s Abraham Accords,” which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab nations during Trump’s first term, Herzog’s office said.

Netanyahu, who has publicly vowed to keep fighting in Gaza until Hamas is vanquished, is reportedly working with Trump on a plan that would end the war, recommit Israel to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and normalize Israeli-Saudi and Israeli-Syrian relations. Netanyahu has not confirmed any such plan.

He said on Wednesday that Israel’s aims of both defeating Hamas and freeing the hostages were still attainable: “I am telling you, there will be no Hamas,” he said. “There will be no Hamastan. We are not going back to that. It is over. We will release all our hostages.”