President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Israel has “agreed to the necessary conditions” to finalize a ceasefire deal in the Israel-Hamas war.
“My Representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza. Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War,” Trump said on Truth Social.
“The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring Peace, will deliver this final proposal,” he added. “I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE.”
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Hamas on Wednesday said it was weighing up the new ceasefire agreements that it had received from mediators Egypt and Qatar.
In a statement, it said it would “conducting national consultations” with the final aim of ending the fighting, ensuring the withdrawal of Israeli forces and delivering “urgent relief” to the people of Gaza.
Meanwhile, in his first remark since Trump’s announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not address a ceasefire but did call for the elimination of Hamas.
“There will be no Hamas. There will be no Hamastan. We are not going back to that. It is over. We will release all our hostages,” he said.
The comments come ahead of Netanyahu’s scheduled to visit to the White House on Monday, where he is expected to discuss the situation in Gaza with Trump.
Trump has renewed a push for an end to the war after Israel broke an earlier ceasefire agreement with Hamas by launching a series of deadly airstrikes in March.
Trump indicated Friday that a ceasefire deal was forthcoming. “We’re working on Gaza and trying to get it taken care of,” he told reporters.
Roughly 50 of 251 hostages remain in Gaza following the Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, when more than 1,200 people were killed. Of the remaining hostages in captivity, 28 are presumed to be dead.
Israel’s attacks in Gaza have killed more than 56,000 people and created a humanitarian crisis, with Gazans having scarce access to critical resources.
Zoë Richards is a politics reporter for NBC News.