Trump launches broadside against rivals as he meets Netanyahu in Florida

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has sharply criticised his Democratic political rivals, and warned of dire consequences for the Middle East if he was not re-elected, as he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida.

The meeting capped a week in which Netanyahu addressed the US Congress and held talks with President Joe Biden and presumptive Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris.

"We have incompetent people running our country," Trump said while sitting across from Netanyahu on Friday.

When asked about his reactions to VP Kamala Harris' comments on Gaza, the former president stated her comments were disrespectful to Israel.

"If we win, it'll be very simple. It's all gonna work out, and very quickly," Trump said. "If we don't, you could end up with major wars in the Middle East and maybe a third world war."

Trump's campaign later released a statement on the meeting, saying he "pledged that when he returns to the White House, he will make every effort to bring peace to the Middle East."

Rome talks

The Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth said Netanyahu plans to send an Israeli delegation to Rome on Sunday to negotiate a prisoner exchange deal with Palestinian factions in Gaza.

"Only time will tell if we are close to finalising the deal," Netanyahu said.

In addition to the Israeli delegation, teams from Egypt, Qatar, and the US will participate in the Rome meeting, as reported by Cairo News, citing an unnamed high-level Egyptian source.

Netanyahu delivered a speech before the US Congress on Wednesday. The session was boycotted by nearly half of the Democratic members of the House and Senate, protesting Netanyahu's ongoing war and crimes in the Gaza Strip.

Thousands protested in Washington DC against Netanyahu as the Israeli PM continued his speech in the Capitol.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza, since October 7 when Israel was caught off guard by the Hamas raid, the deadliest in the nation's history.

About 1,200 people were killed during the blitz as well as Israeli's haphazard military reaction -that allegations suggest did not distinguish between Hamas fighters and Israelis- and 250 taken hostage. It took days for the military to take control of the area.

Israeli military told the AP that the army did not do any forensic work in the wake of October 7.

In the following brutal besiege and attack on Gaza, Israel has killed nearly 39,200 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and wounded over 90,400.

Over nine months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.