Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu aimed to mend relations with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Friday and offered measured optimism about progress toward a ceasefire deal for Gaza, nearing the end of a contentious U.S. visit that highlighted the growing American divisions over support for the Israeli-Hamas conflict.

Trump welcomed Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and criticized Harris for expressing concern over the impact on Palestinian civilians from Israel's 9-month-old campaign in Gaza after her meeting with the Israeli leader, according to Reuters.

"I think her remarks were disrespectful," Trump said.

Netanyahu told journalists that he hoped U.S.-mediated talks would succeed in achieving a ceasefire and the release of hostages.

"I hope so," Netanyahu responded when asked by reporters if his U.S. trip had made progress. Amid growing accusations at home that he is resisting a deal to end the 9-month-old conflict to prevent the collapse of his far-right government, Netanyahu said on Friday that he was "certainly eager to have one. And we're working on it."

In his high-profile speech to Congress on Wednesday and again Friday at Mar-a-Lago, Netanyahu poured praise on Trump, calling the regional accords Trump helped broker historic and thanking him "for all the things he did for Israel."

Netanyahu listed actions by the Trump administration long-sought by Israeli government, the U.S. officially saying Israel had sovereignty over the Golan Heights, captured from Syria during a 1967 war, and a tougher U.S. policy toward Iran; and Trump declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel, breaking with longstanding U.S. policy that Jerusalem's status should be decided in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

Netanyahu and Trump last met at a September 2020 White House signing ceremony for the signature diplomatic achievement of both men's political careers.

(With input from agencies)