Trump says he expects Hamas decision in 24 hours on 'final' peace proposal
The president also said he had spoken to Saudi Arabia about expanding the Abraham Accords, the deal on normalisation of ties that his administration negotiated between Israel and some Gulf countries during his first term.
Trump said on Tuesday Israel had accepted the conditions needed to finalise a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas, during which the parties will work to end the war.
He was asked today if Hamas had agreed to the latest ceasefire deal framework, and said: "We'll see what happens, we are going to know over the next 24 hours."
A source close to Hamas said yesterday the group sought guarantees that the new US-backed ceasefire proposal would lead to the end of Israel's war in Gaza.
Two Israeli officials said those details were still being worked out. Dozens of Palestinians were killed yesterday in Israeli strikes, according to Gaza authorities.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, Israeli tallies show.
Gaza's Health Ministry says Israel's subsequent military assault has killed over 56,000 Palestinians. It has also caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza's entire population and prompted accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the accusations.
A previous two-month ceasefire ended when Israeli strikes killed more than 400 Palestinians on March 18. Trump earlier this year proposed a US takeover of Gaza, which was condemned globally by rights experts, the UN and Palestinians as a proposal of "ethnic cleansing".
Trump made the comments on the Abraham Accords when asked about US media reporting yesterday that he had met Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman at the White House.
"It's one of the things we talked about," Trump said. "I think a lot of people are going to be joining the Abraham accords," he added, citing the predicted expansion to the damage faced by Iran from recent US and Israeli strikes.
Axios reported that after the meeting with Trump, the Saudi official spoke on the phone with Abdolrahim Mousavi, chief of Iran's General Staff of the Armed Forces.
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The Star
17 minutes ago
- The Star
In reversal, Japan now wants rice farmers to produce more. Will it work?
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The government aims to provide some form of support but also expects farmers to make their own efforts to consolidate, and make use of artificial intelligence and other technologies to lower production costs. Meanwhile, Hosaka said, prices of fertilisers, pesticides and fuel have shot up, sending production costs through the roof. "It's tough," he said. "The government has released quite a bit of stockpiled rice, so I'm very worried about prices falling even further." - Reuters
The Sun
an hour ago
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UN reports 613 killed at Gaza aid sites near humanitarian convoys
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New Straits Times
3 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Hamas responds positively to new ceasefire plan
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