US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he was very optimistic following a positive response from Hamas on the 60-day truce proposal, and that “there could be a deal on Gaza” next week.
When asked if he was optimistic about the ceasefire, he replied “very much,” adding that “it changes from day to day”.
“That’s good. I haven’t been told. We have to get it done. We have to do something about Gaza,” he continued when informed that Hamas had expressed willingness to engage and negotiate the terms of the deal.
This comes after Hamas on Friday evening announced it had completed internal consultations, as well as talks with Palestinian factions and forces regarding the latest truce proposal.
The group confirmed it had a “positive” response and was “fully prepared to enter immediately into a round of negotiations on the mechanisms needed to implement the framework”.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad also said it supported Hamas’ decision to proceed with the negotiations on how to implement the truce, adding that the movement “presented Hamas with some detailed observations on the mechanism for implementing the proposal”, noting it wanted “additional international guarantees to ensure that the Israeli occupation will not resume its aggression after the prisoner release clause is implemented”.
Earlier this week, Trump had said he would likely know Hamas’ response to the proposed truce “within 24 hours”, however, Hamas reiterated it wanted clear guarantees that the truce would result in a permanent ceasefire.
Cairo also said this week that it is carrying out intensive talks to try to agree on the final terms of the truce after receiving a positive response from Hamas.
The Egyptian Al-Qahira news channel quoted unnamed sources as saying that “Egypt will begin conducting intensive contacts with various parties in the coming hours to reach a final formula that is agreed upon by all parties”, and that “Egypt is increasing its contacts with all parties to resume indirect negotiations between the two sides”.
Meanwhile, over 550 former Israeli security officials have signed a letter to Trump, calling on him to use his upcoming meeting on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to push for an end to the war on Gaza.
“Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel, and as demonstrated this year on multiple fronts, Israel possesses overwhelming power and ability to neutralise any threat that might arise from Gaza in the future,” the letter reads, adding that the war risks the lives of captives in Gaza and continues to cost the Israeli military.
Israel pounds Gaza
The latest developments come as Israel continues to carry out attacks and strikes across the enclave, killing at least 35 Palestinians on Saturday morning alone.
According to sources on the ground, among those killed were eight civilians seeking emergency aid.
Some reports noted that the uptick in attacks follows a pattern where Israel increases its bombardment of Gaza days before a ceasefire is likely to be agreed.
The strikes targeted the Maghazi refugee camp as well as the az-Zarqa neighbourhood.
Israeli strikes also hit a school in Gaza killing at least five and wounding scores more.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 61,700 Palestinians since October 2023 and plunged the Strip into a deep humanitarian crisis. The war has been determined a genocide by leading rights group Amnesty International.
