TEL AVIVU. As the parties seemed to be getting closer to an agreement, U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday urged for progress in ceasefire negotiations in the war in Gaza, asking for a settlement that would halt the bloodshed in the 20-month conflict.
According to an Israeli official, preparations are underway for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Washington, D.C., in the upcoming weeks, which could indicate that negotiations for a new agreement are progressing. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss arrangements that were still in the planning stages and declined to reveal the visit’s topic.
IN GAZA, MAKE THE DEAL. RESTORE THE HOSTAGES! Trump posted about a Senate vote on his tax and spending cuts bill on his social media network Truth Social early on Sunday.
Trump said Friday that a ceasefire agreement might be reached within the next week, which increased hopes for a deal. He responded, “We’re working on Gaza and trying to get it taken care of,” in response to questioning from reporters.
Trump has urged Israel and Hamas to put an end to the conflict in Gaza on numerous occasions. Even though an eight-week ceasefire was agreed upon earlier this year, right before Trump took office, efforts to move the parties toward a new deal have not succeeded.
Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, a close advisor to Netanyahu, was scheduled to visit Washington this week to discuss a truce.
Trump denounces the corruption prosecution of Netanyahu.
Trump’s posts about the Middle East weren’t limited to the Gaza theme. He intensified his criticism of the legal procedures against Netanyahu, who is on trial for alleged corruption, on Saturday night, calling them a POLITICAL WITCH HUNT that was strikingly similar to the Witch Hunt I had to go through.
He said in the Truth Social post that the prosecution hampered negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza.
(Netanyahu) is currently discussing a deal with Hamas that will entail the return of the hostages. Trump wrote, “How can the Israeli Prime Minister be made to spend the entire day in a courtroom over NOTHING?”
Similar statements made by Trump last week when he demanded that the trial be canceled were echoed in the post. It was a striking example of an international ally meddling in a sovereign state’s internal affairs. And even though Trump is well-liked in Israel, it worried a lot of people there.
New evacuations in northern Gaza are ordered by the Israeli military.
Large areas of northern Gaza, an early target of the conflict that has been badly devastated by numerous rounds of combat, were ordered to be evacuated in bulk by the Israeli military on Sunday.
The directive was shared on social media by military spokesperson Col. Avichay Adraee. It encompasses the Jabaliya refugee camp and some neighborhoods in Gaza City’s eastern and northern regions.
According to Adraee, the military will intensify its attacks on the northern part of the city and would urge residents to go south to the Muwasi neighborhood in southern Gaza.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians have returned to northern Gaza during a ceasefire earlier this year after the area was virtually empty earlier in the conflict.
The goal of the present Israeli military offensive is to relocate Palestinians to southern Gaza so that troops may fight Hamas with greater freedom. According to rights organizations, their movement would be considered a transfer by force.
A source of contention over how the war concludes
Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, marked the start of the war in Gaza. The terrorists killed 1,200 people and captured approximately 250 hostages, of whom about 50 are still in captivity and less than half are thought to be alive.
More than 56,000 people have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory reaction, according to local health authorities. They do not differentiate between terrorists and civilians in their tally, but they say that women and children make up more than half of the deceased.
In addition to causing a humanitarian crisis, the conflict has destroyed much of Gaza’s urban landscape and forced the majority of its people to flee their homes, frequently on several occasions.
One significant source of contention in Israel-Hamas negotiations has been whether or not the conflict should end as part of any ceasefire deal.
In return for Israel’s complete troop withdrawal and the end of the conflict, Hamas says it is prepared to release all of the hostages. Israel declines that offer, stating that if Hamas disarms and goes into exile—something the organization refuses to do—Israel will agree to halt the war.
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Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip, while Magdy reported from Cairo.
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Go to https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war to follow the AP’s coverage of the conflict.
