United States President Donald Trump said a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas could be reached “within the next week”, even as Israel’s relentless assault on Gaza continues, with at least 14 people killed in recent attacks across the besieged enclave since dawn.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump said he believed a truce was close after discussions with unnamed parties.
“I think it’s close. I just spoke to some of the people involved,” Trump said. “We think within the next week we’re going to get a ceasefire.”
However, Trump had already suggested progress during a NATO summit earlier this week in The Hague, where he met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
At the time, he said: “I think great progress is being made on Gaza… I think we’re going to have some very good news.” He also said his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, had told him “Gaza is very close” to an agreement.
Read: 62 killed in Gaza
In parallel, a senior Hamas official also stated that negotiations had gained momentum, pointing to an active diplomatic track.
Al Jazeera correspondent Nour Odeh, reporting from Amman, noted there were “no negotiations at this moment happening anywhere in the region”.
A spokesperson for Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who was involved in earlier truce efforts, said they had “no information to share” regarding Trump’s ceasefire prediction.
Hamas, for its part, demands a halt to Israeli attacks, withdrawal of troops from seized areas in Gaza, and US guarantees to prevent future ceasefire breaches.
Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer is expected in Washington next week for meetings with Trump officials to discuss Gaza, Iran, and a possible White House visit by Netanyahu.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate.
The Gaza Government Media Office said Israeli soldiers were “ordered to deliberately shoot” starving Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid, a claim first reported by Israeli media.
The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, said that aid distribution centres operated by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) had effectively become a “killing field”.
Read more: UN chief slams US-backed Gaza aid plan
At least eight people were killed in an Israeli air raid on the Osama Bin Zaid School in Saftawi, north of Gaza City, Al Jazeera Arabic reported, citing its correspondents on the ground. The school had been sheltering displaced civilians.
Earlier, at least six people were killed when Israeli forces struck tents housing displaced Palestinians in the Al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis, according to Al Jazeera, which cited medical sources at Nasser Hospital. Among the targets was a tent belonging to the Abu Taima family.
The attacks come amid widespread displacement and severe food shortages.
Israel’s war on Gaza
The Israeli army has launched a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
