
Trump says ‘good chance' of hostage deal with Hamas ‘during the week'
MORRISTOWN : US President Donald Trump said on Sunday there was a 'good chance' of a hostage deal with Hamas 'during the week,' ahead of his upcoming meeting with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu.
'I think there's a good chance we have a deal with Hamas… during the coming week,' Trump told reporters amid mounting pressure on the Israeli prime minister to agree to a ceasefire and end the war in Gaza after almost two years.
Netanyahu said Sunday he hoped his talks in Washington could 'help advance' a Gaza ceasefire deal.
Trump and Netanyahu are scheduled to meet at the White House on Monday – the Israeli prime minister's third visit since Trump returned to power in January.
Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas were underway in Qatar Sunday.
'We've gotten a lot of the hostages out, but pertaining to the remaining hostages, quite a few of them will be coming out,' Trump added.
He said the US was 'working on a lot of things' with Israel, including 'probably a permanent deal with Iran.'
Trump also repeated claims that US strikes 'obliterated' Iran's nuclear facilities during the 12-day Iran-Israel conflict.
Since the start of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, mediators have brokered pauses in fighting during which hostages were freed in exchange for Israel-held Palestinian prisoners.
Of the 251 hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the October 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel's military campaign, lack of food and dire humanitarian conditions for more than 2 million people in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 57,418 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.
The United Nations considers the figures reliable.
Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

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The Sun
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- The Sun
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New Straits Times
a few seconds ago
- New Straits Times
US, China to resume tariff talks in effort to extend truce
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Bessent has also said he would discuss with He the need for China to rebalance its economy away from exports toward domestic consumer demand. The shift would require China to put an end to a protracted property crisis and boost social safety nets to encourage household spending. Michael Froman, a former US trade representative during Barack Obama's administration, said such a shift has been a goal of US policymakers for two decades. "Can we effectively use tariffs to get China to fundamentally change their economic strategy? That remains to be seen," said Froman, now president of the Council on Foreign Relations think tank.


New Straits Times
a few seconds ago
- New Straits Times
US and EU avert trade war with 15 per cent tariff deal
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Trump has argued that his tariffs are bringing in "hundreds of billions of dollars" in revenues for the US while dismissing warnings from economists about the risk of inflation. On July 12, Trump threatened to apply a 30 per cent tariff on imports from the EU starting on August 1, after weeks of negotiations failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal. The EU had prepared countertariffs on €93 billion (US$109 billion) of US goods in the event a deal to avoid the tariffs could not be struck. — REUTERS