US President Donald Trump believes that a ceasefire could be reached in the Gaza Strip within a week.
“We’re close, I think,” Trump stated on Friday at the White House during the signing of the Rwandan-Congolese agreement. Earlier that day, he mentioned having spoken with some of the involved parties, but he did not provide further details.
For several months, mediators in Qatar and Egypt have been attempting to broker a new truce between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. However, recent indications suggest a lack of willingness from both parties to engage in serious negotiations or shift from their entrenched positions.
Hamas has maintained its readiness to release hostages in exchange for ending the conflict, while Israel demands Hamas’s disarmament and dismantlement before it will cease hostilities. Hamas, however, rejects any notion of disarmament.
A spokesperson for Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, informed Reuters that they had no additional comments beyond Trump’s statements.
On Friday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres once again called for an immediate ceasefire, warning that the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip has reached “horrific proportions.” The recent truce between Israel and Iran offers some hope, according to Guterres, but he noted that people in Gaza are still being killed while trying to access food.
Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which resulted in 1,200 deaths and the capture of 250 hostages, triggered Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip. According to the Gaza Strip’s Health Ministry, the conflict has resulted in 56,000 deaths and 130,000 injuries. Nearly the entire population has been displaced, with Israel facing accusations of genocide, claims that Tel Aviv denies.
