By Jaber Jehad Badwan - Wikipedia
US President Donald Trump has announced that Israel has accepted the “necessary conditions” to move forward with a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza. Writing on Truth Social, Trump stated that during this proposed ceasefire period, the United States would “work with all parties to end the War.”
“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 has yet to officially confirm it has accepted the terms outlined in the deal, and there has been no immediate response from Hamas. Trump’s comments come ahead of an upcoming meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during which the president has pledged to be “very firm.”
On Tuesday, Trump expressed confidence in Netanyahu’s willingness to end the conflict. “He wants to. I can tell you he wants to. I think we’ll have a deal next week,” the president said.
That same day, Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer was scheduled to meet with US officials in Washington, including Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Vice President JD Vance.
Earlier, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, affirmed in an interview with the BBC that Israel was “absolutely” ready to implement a ceasefire. However, he accused Hamas of being inflexible.
“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 stated. “The war will end when the hostages are back home.”
Roughly 50 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, with at least 20 believed to be alive.
Last week, a senior Hamas official told the BBC that international mediators had stepped up efforts to broker a new ceasefire and hostage deal. Still, negotiations with Israel remain at a stalemate.
Israel has maintained that the war will only end once Hamas has been completely dismantled. Meanwhile, Hamas has continued to demand a permanent truce and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Trump’s remarks follow recent Israeli orders for mass evacuations in northern Gaza, signaling preparations for renewed military operations. On Monday, at least 20 Palestinians were reportedly killed in an Israeli airstrike on a seafront café in Gaza City, according to medics and eyewitness accounts.
Israel initiated its military campaign in Gaza in response to the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel, which killed approximately 1,200 people. Since then, over 56,647 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
This week, the Israeli military also confirmed it is reviewing reports that civilians may have been harmed while approaching aid distribution centers operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is backed by the US and Israel.
More than 170 humanitarian organizations and NGOs have called for GHF’s closure, with groups like Oxfam and Save the Children alleging that Israeli forces “routinely” open fire on Palestinians attempting to access aid.
Israel has denied these allegations, defending the foundation’s role as essential for circumventing Hamas interference in humanitarian aid distribution.
A prior ceasefire agreement collapsed in March after Israel resumed airstrikes in Gaza. The Israeli military characterized those actions as “pre-emptive strikes… based on Hamas’s readiness to execute terror attacks, build up force and re-arm.”
The previous ceasefire, initiated on January 19, was intended to unfold in three phases. However, it never progressed beyond the first stage. The second phase envisioned a permanent ceasefire, the return of all remaining living hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
