Trump urges Hamas to agree 'final' Gaza ceasefire proposal
In a social media post, Mr Trump said his representatives had a "long and productive" meeting with Israeli officials about Gaza.
He did not identify his representatives but US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance had been due to meet Ron Dermer, a senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mr Trump said Israel has agreed to the conditions to finalise a 60-day ceasefire, "during which time we will work with all parties to end the War."
He said representatives for Qatar and Egypt will deliver "this final proposal" to Hamas.
"I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" he said.
Mr Trump told reporters yesterday that he is hopeful that a ceasefire-for-hostages agreement can be achieved next week between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.
He is set to meet Mr Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.
Hamas has said it is willing to free remaining hostages in Gaza under any deal to end the war, while Israel says it can only end if Hamas is disarmed and dismantled.
Hamas refuses to lay down its arms.
The war in Gaza was triggered when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on 7 October, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
The two sides have shown little sign of a readiness to budge from their entrenched positions.
The US has proposed a 60-day ceasefire and the release of half the hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and the remains of other Palestinians.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said earlier this week Israel has agreed to a US-proposed 60-day ceasefire and hostage deal, and put the onus on Hamas to accept it.
Mr Trump and his aides appear to be seeking to use any momentum from US and Israeli strikes on Iran nuclear sites, as well as a ceasefire that took hold last week in that conflict, to secure a lasting truce in the war in Gaza.
Mr Trump told reporters during a visit to Florida that he would be "very firm" with Mr Netanyahu on the need for a speedy Gaza ceasefire, while noting that the Israeli leader wants one as well.
"We hope it's going to happen. And we're looking forward to it happening sometime next week," he told reporters.
"We want to get the hostages out."
Gaza's health ministry says Israel's military assault in response to the 7 October 2023 attack has killed over 56,000 Palestinians.
The assault 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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Government pushing for key sectors to be exempt from Donald Trump's planned 10pc tariffs
It is now exactly a week to the July 9 deadline set by US president Donald Trump, after which he has threatened to slap a 50pc tariff on imports from the EU. Mr Burke said the Government does want a trade deal to be in place by July 9, rather than the deadline being extended, because 'we don't want any uncertainty to continue'. He has also pointed out that there is another deadline – of July 14 – when the European Commission has threatened to hit back with tariffs on some US imports. It is now expected that a headline or framework deal will be agreed by the deadline, with talks continuing afterwards about the precise details. Mr Trump's administration seems to be insisting on a 10pc baseline tariff, and the focus for Ireland and other EU states is to get a zero-for-zero exemption for some sectors. 'We're very keen to get a carve-out in key sectors that are centrally important to the Irish economy and indeed the European economy,' Mr Burke told a press conference in Dublin. 'We have aircraft leasing here, which is a significant component of the global marketplace. About 65pc of all aircraft leased is through Ireland. 'We have a very important life sciences sector, which is again key to, and strategic, to the resilience of Europe. So we're looking at key sectors like that, to see if we can get a landing zone on those areas.' The minister said he is 'hopeful rather than confident' about a positive outcome, and pointed out that July 9 is the deadline set by Mr Trump for the conclusion of talks on trade deals with a number of countries. He said this posed a 'huge challenge' to the US administration itself, 'in terms of the bandwidth, to be dealing with so many moving parts'. Asked if a baseline 10pc tariff and carve-outs for key sectors would now represent a "win' for Ireland, given Mr Trump's threat to impose 50pc levies, Mr Burke said he didn't see any tariff as a win. 'What it would mean for our agri-food sector is 10pc on top of existing tariffs in many of those key areas. We need to see what a new 10pc would mean – if your margin is 6pc, 7pc, 8pc, where does a 10pc tariff leave you? It is a huge concern still. 'Tariffs are bad. They constrain supply, cause supply-chain shortages and, in essence, make goods more expensive for consumers in both countries. That's not a good position to be in.' The Enterprise Minister said the US negotiators seem to want a quota system, so that America is able to export a certain amount of their key products to Europe, such as cars and beef. He also indicated that final arrangements will not be put in place by July 9. 'There's a lot of concerns in relation to how much of an actual trade deal it is,' he said. 'It's more of a framework for the establishment of further negotiations.' Mr Burke said the agri-food and drinks sectors were very much on his mind as the trade talks continue. 'Distilleries are going through a huge amount of uncertainty. Right now they have a huge amount of premium product in the US, and margins are significantly under pressure. That's a big concern to the government and we're working through our partners in Europe in connection with them, particularly in relation to counter measures.' The EU is being represented at the talks by Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, who is due to meet tomorrow with his US counterparts Howard Lutnick and Jamieson Greer. He will then brief EU governments on Friday.
RTÉ News
4 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Kanye blocked from entering Australia over Hitler song
Updated / Wednesday, 2 Jul 2025 11:00 American rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has been blocked from entering Australia over an offensively titled song praising Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Australian Home Affairs minister Tony Burke revealed that the singer has been travelling for years to the country, where his wife of three years, Bianca Censori, was born. Her family live in Melbourne. Mr Burke said the track, which was released in May, promoted Nazism. It has been criticised as an antisemitic tribute to German dictator Adolf Hitler. "He's been coming to Australia for a long time. He's got family here. And he's made a lot of offensive comments that my officials looked at again once he released the song and he no longer has a valid visa in Australia," the minister told Australian Broadcasting Corp. "We have enough problems in this country already without deliberately importing bigotry," he added. Australia's Migration Act sets security and character requirements for non-citizens to enter the country. Its largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, have seen a spate of antisemitic attacks since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7 2023. Source: Associated Press
Irish Examiner
4 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Australia cancels Kanye West's visa over release of Heil Hitler single
US rapper Ye was stripped of a visa to enter Australia after he released his single Heil Hitler, a government minister has said. Home affairs minister Tony Burke revealed that Ye – formerly known as Kanye West – has been travelling for years to Australia, where his wife of three years, Bianca Censori, was born. Her family live in Melbourne. Mr Burke said Heil Hitler, released in May, promoted Nazism. It has been criticised as an antisemitic tribute to German dictator Adolf Hitler. 'He's been coming to Australia for a long time. He's got family here. And he's made a lot of offensive comments that my officials looked at again once he released the Heil Hitler song and he no longer has a valid visa in Australia,' the minister told Australian Broadcasting Corp. 'We have enough problems in this country already without deliberately importing bigotry,' he added. Australia's Migration Act sets security and character requirements for non-citizens to enter the country. Its largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, have seen a spate of antisemitic attacks since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7 2023.
