US president Donald Trump has reiterated calls for a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.
Posting to Truth Social on Sunday morning, he wrote: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”
Mr Trump said on Friday that he believed it is possible that a ceasefire could be reached within a week, despite intense bombardment of the strip by the Israeli military and continued deadly Israeli attacks on Palestinian civilians.
Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with less than half believed to still be alive. They were among 251 hostages taken in the Hamas-led 7th October attack on southern Israel in 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed.
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Israel’s subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry, displaced almost the entire 2.3 million population, plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis and left much of it in ruins.
Indirect talks between the two sides have faltered since Israel shattered a previous ceasefire in March that had come into effect in January.
A Hamas official told Reuters the group had informed the mediators it was ready to resume ceasefire talks, but reaffirmed the group’s outstanding demands that any deal must end the war and secure an Israeli withdrawal from the coastal territory.
As efforts to bring about a truce continue, Israel’s military has issued an evacuation order for the northern Gaza Strip, warning Palestinian people in parts of Gaza City and nearby areas of imminent strikes there.
Mr Trump said on Saturday that the US was “not going to stand” for what he framed as the continued prosecution of Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu on corruption charges.
“The United States of America spends Billions of Dollar a year, far more than on any other Nation, protecting and supporting Israel. We are not going to stand for this,” the US president posted on his Truth Social platform.
An Israeli court on Friday rejected Mr Netanyahu’s request to postpone giving testimony in his corruption trial, ruling that he had not provided adequate justification for his request.
Mr Netanyahu is standing trial for three charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He denies the accusations levelled against him and say they are politically motivated. – Guardian
