Exclusive: Trump Is Telling Israel 'Time Is Right' for Gaza Deal—Source

Newsweek

5 hours ago

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President Donald Trump is seeking to sway Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toward agreeing to a ceasefire deal with the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip following the truce that put an end to Iran and Israel's 12-day war, according to a source familiar with the negotiations.
"An agreement is very possible," the person told Newsweek. "The president is working very hard on convincing the Israelis that the time is right, now that they have finished with the issue of Iran."
The person, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, added that Trump was also looking for a lasting end to the conflict, beyond the 60-day truce period outlined in the latest U.S. proposal.
"The president is clearly interested not just in a mere 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas," the source said. "He's hoping that those 60 days would lead to a resolution, the release of all the hostages and permanent cease fire that could lead to negotiations over the future of an Israel-Palestine peace agreement."
Newsweek has reached out to representatives of Hamas, the Israeli government and the White House for comment.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C, on April 7, 2025.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C, on April 7, 2025.
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
Peace After Peace
Israel and Hamas have been at war since October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched what came to be the deadliest attack in Israel's history.
Around 1,100 people, most of them civilians, were killed and an additional 251 taken hostage, around 50 of whom are still believed to be in captivity, according to Israeli officials. The Hamas-led Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza counts more than 56,250 killed throughout the subsequent war in the territory.
The conflict has also drawn in Iran and its Axis of Resistance coalition, which intervened in support of Hamas. Israel signed a ceasefire with the Lebanese Hezbollah movement last November and the U.S. signed a truce with Yemen's Ansar Allah, or Houthi, movement last month, though the group continued to strike at Israel.
Israel and Iran also exchanged two sets of strikes throughout last year but entered into their most serious confrontation to date on June 12, after Israel launched a widespread series of strikes targeting sites and personnel associated with the Islamic Republic's nuclear program and armed forces.
Just three days after entering the war by ordering U.S. strikes on three key Iranian nuclear facilities and hours after an Iranian missile attack on a U.S. base in Qatar, Trump declared a ceasefire on Tuesday. The truce appears to have held as of Friday, despite initial violations for which Trump blamed both sides and expressed particular frustration with Israel.
Trump has repeatedly hailed the ceasefire as the latest in a string of diplomatic victories, which he counts as including peace deals struck between Serbia and Kosovo, India and Pakistan and a peace deal set to be reached between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. Trump is also actively looking to mediate a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
But the apparent closure of the Iran-Israel front, at least for the time being, has prompted questions over what comes next for the still-ongoing war in Gaza. Trump came to office vowing to forge a legacy of "peacemaker and unifier" in his effort to "stop all wars."
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is estimated to have established control over three-quarters of the war-torn Palestinian territory, yet Israeli troops continue to clash with Hamas and allied Palestinian factions.
Shortly after the Iran-Israel ceasefire was announced by Trump, Israeli Permanent Representative to the United Nations Danny Danon confirmed to reporters Tuesday that Israel hoped to soon achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.
The following day, the BBC cited a senior Hamas official as saying that the group had intensified efforts to reach a deal.
U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said during a press briefing Thursday that the Trump administration's "focus now is the ceasefire we need to see" in Gaza.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed to reporters the same day that Netanyahu has "expressed interest in coming to the White House to meet the president" and that Trump is "very open to that," though no date had been set.
Men shout out to others below as smoke billows while first-responders attempt to extinguish a blaze following an Israeli strike at the UNRWA's Osama bin Zaid school in the Saftawi district in western Jabalia in...
Men shout out to others below as smoke billows while first-responders attempt to extinguish a blaze following an Israeli strike at the UNRWA's Osama bin Zaid school in the Saftawi district in western Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on June 27, 2025. More
BASHAR TALEB/AFP/Getty Images
Getting Back to the Table
The Trump administration previously oversaw a limited Israel-Hamas ceasefire in January in an agreement first drafted by outgoing President Joe Biden's administration and secured with the help of Trump's incoming special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, just days before inauguration.
The first-phase agreement ultimately allowed for the return of 33 hostages in Hamas captivity in exchange for 1,900 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The deal unraveled in March, however, as the two sides failed to agree on a framework for follow-up talks and Israel resumed its offensive.
Still, negotiations have continued to play out in the Qatari capital of Doha. Last month, after the release of Israeli-U.S. hostage Edan Alexander following direct U.S.-Hamas talks, Newsweek obtained a copy of a new proposal issued by Witkoff.
The deal would pause the conflict for 60 days, during which Trump would guarantee Israel's commitment to not launching hostilities. Hamas would release 10 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of 18 deceased hostages in two transfers divided between the first and seventh days of the agreement, while Israel would release 1,236 individuals held in Israeli prisons and 180 bodies.
On the 10th day, Israel and Hamas would provide up-to-date information on the condition of those being held by the respective sides.
Israel would also halt military and aerial reconnaissance activity over Gaza for 10 hours each day, and up to 12 hours on the days in which hostages and prisoners were exchanged. Israeli troops would conduct a redeployment in the Netzarim Corridor and northern Gaza, and the flow of humanitarian assistance from the United Nations and the Red Crescent would resume through mutually agreed channels.
The agreement also calls for the immediate launch of follow-up negotiations toward securing a permanent ceasefire as well as the release of all remaining hostages, living and dead. The deal allows for an extension of the temporary ceasefire if a new agreement is not reached within 60 days.
U.S. and Israeli officials have accused Hamas of rejecting the terms of the ceasefire, while the group has said it responded positively, though sought broader guarantees that Israel would not immediately resume the war after the 60-day truce period.
Demonstrators block traffic during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages held captive since the October 7, 2023, attack led by Hamas, in Tel Aviv on June 26, 2025.
Demonstrators block traffic during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages held captive since the October 7, 2023, attack led by Hamas, in Tel Aviv on June 26, 2025.
FADEL SENNA/AFP/Getty Images
The Stakes Rise
While the Iran-Israel conflict appeared to eclipse attention over the Israel-Hamas war, international pressure has continued to mount on Netanyahu to put an end to the offensive in Gaza.
Following a summit held Thursday in Brussels among European Union leaders, the bloc issued a statement saying that "the European Council calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional release of all hostages, leading to a permanent end to hostilities."
The EU criticized what it called a "catastrophic humanitarian situation" in Gaza, where Israel once again ordered a partial halting of aid over allegations that Hamas was seizing shipments. Following a previous freezing of virtually all humanitarian assistance to Gaza in March, the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation became the only agency permitted to distribute aid in May.
Since then, however, hundreds of Palestinians have been reported killed while trying to seek aid, according to the Hamas-led Gaza Government Media Office. The IDF has also accused Hamas of firing at Palestinians attempting to collect assistance at distribution centers, an allegation denied by the group.
Tensions have ramped up in Israel as well in recent days. With citizens once again free to walk the streets after persistent lockdowns due to incoming Iranian missile and drone strikes, protests have resumed in Tel Aviv among hostage families and supporters calling on the government to do more to secure the release of their loved ones still in Hamas captivity.
For Netanyahu, legal challenges add to the pressure. The Israeli premier is reportedly due to appear in court Monday as part of an ongoing trial for his 2020 indictment on bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges, all of which he denies.
Trump weighed in directly on the issue Thursday, describing the legal proceedings against Netanyahu as a "WITCH HUNT" and calling for them to be "CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero, who has done so much for the State," in a Truth Social post.
Several Israeli media outlets, including the Kann public broadcaster, cited sources saying that Trump's push to end Netanyahu's trial was part of the broader effort to win the Israeli premier's agreement to end the war in Gaza.
The Times of Israel reported that the Jerusalem District Court on Friday twice rejected requests from Netanyahu for a two-week hiatus in the trial.