Israel has agreed to the “necessary conditions” to finalise a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, US President Donald Trump has said.
During the proposed deal, “we will work with all parties to end the War”, Trump said in a post on Truth Social, without detailing what the conditions are.
“The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring Peace, will deliver this final proposal. I hope… that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” Trump wrote.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon said that Israel was “absolutely” ready for a ceasefire, but it was not immediately clear whether Hamas would accept the conditions of the proposed deal.
Trump’s announcement comes before a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scheduled for next week, in which the US president has said he would be “very firm”.
The US president said on Tuesday that he believed Netanyahu wanted to end hostilities in Gaza.
“He wants to. I can tell you he wants to. I think we’ll have a deal next week,” Trump added.
On Tuesday, Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer was due to meet US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance in Washington.
Speaking on the BBC News channel, Danon said that Hamas was “playing hardball”.
“We are putting pressure on Hamas, and if they will not come to the table, the only option we will have to bring back the hostages, is to apply more military pressure,” Danon said.
“The war will end when the hostages are back home,” he added.
Around 50 Israeli hostages are still in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
Last week, a senior Hamas official told the BBC mediators have increased efforts to broker a new ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, but that negotiations with Israel remain stalled.
Israel has said the conflict can only end when Hamas has been completely dismantled. Hamas has long called for a permanent truce and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Trump’s comments come shortly after Israel ordered evacuations in northern Gaza ahead of increased military action. At least 20 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike on a seafront cafe in Gaza City on Monday, according to medics and eyewitnesses.
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza after Hamas’s 7 October, 2023 attack on Israel, in which around 1,200 people were killed. At least 56,647 have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
The Israeli military this week also said it was examining reports of civilians being “harmed” while approaching aid distribution centres in Gaza run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
More than 170 charities and other NGOs have called for the controversial group to be shut down. Organisations like Oxfam and Save the Children say Israeli forces “routinely” open fire on Palestinians seeking aid.
Israel denies this accusation and says the organisation is necessary to bypass Hamas interference in aid distribution.
In March, a previous ceasefire deal collapsed when Israel launched fresh strikes on Gaza. The Israeli military described the action as “pre-emptive strikes… based on Hamas’s readiness to execute terror attacks, build up force and re-arm”.
The previous ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas – which started on 19 January – was set up to have three stages, but did not make it past the first stage.
Stage two included establishing a permanent ceasefire, the return of remaining living hostages in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
BBC
