Andrew Roth
Donald Trump has claimed that Israel is ready to agree to a peace deal with Hamas as he seeks to broker a ceasefire to the war in Gaza that has claimed almost 60,000 lives.
In a post on Truthsocial, the US president wrote: “Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War.”
It is unclear what conditions specifically Israel has agreed to and Trump’s previous claims that Israel was ready to end the war, including a ceasefire negotiated before his inauguration in January, have quickly broken down as both sides have accused the other of violating agreements on prisoner exchanges.
Nonetheless, the claim comes after Trump brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, and on the same day as Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer reportedly met with secretary of state Marco Rubio and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
“The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring Peace, will deliver this final proposal,” Trump wrote. “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.”
Key events
One of the consequences of Israel’s 12-day conflict with Iran was a drop-off in attention paid to the war in Gaza, where a terrible humanitarian situation due to Israeli attacks and a blockade on the territory deteriorated even further.
This is a timeline of what happened:
More than 170 NGOs call for dismantlement of US and Israeli-backed food distributor GHF
More than 170 non-governmental organisations called on Tuesday for a secretive US- and Israeli-backed food aid distribution scheme in Gaza to be dismantled as the death toll from Israeli attacks on Palestinians waiting for food at its sites has risen to more than 500. Reuters reports:
More than 500 people have been killed in mass shootings near aid distribution centres or transport routes guarded by Israeli forces since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation started operating in late May, according to medical authorities in Gaza.
The GHF uses private US security and logistics companies to get supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a UN-led system that Israel says had let militants divert aid. The United Nations has called the plan “inherently unsafe” and a violation of humanitarian impartiality rules.
As of early afternoon in Geneva on Tuesday, where the joint declaration was released, 171 charities had signed on to the call for countries to press Israel to halt the GHF scheme and reinstate aid coordinated through the United Nations.
“Palestinians in Gaza face an impossible choice: starve or risk being shot while trying desperately to reach food to feed their families,” the statement said. Groups signing it included Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Amnesty International.
In a response, the GHF told Reuters it had delivered more than 52 million meals in five weeks and claimed other humanitarian groups had “nearly all of their aid looted”.
“Instead of bickering and throwing insults from the sidelines, we would welcome other humanitarian groups to join us and feed the people in Gaza,” the GHF told Reuters.
Doctors Without Borders told reporters in an online press briefing on Tuesday that within the last month two of its small primary health centres had received 22 dead and 548 wounded people. Those who died had received fatal wounds to the chest and in abdomen.
“They are not warning shots. They are shots directed towards the people,” said Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, one of MSF’s emergency coordinators in Gaza.
In more than 50% of the mass casualty incidents near food distribution sites, children have been shot and killed, said Rachel Cummings, Humanitarian Director for Save the Children in Gaza.
“Children have told us they want to die… to be with their mother or father who have been killed. They want to be in paradise because there is food and water,” said Cummings.
The Israeli military acknowledged on Monday that Palestinian civilians have been harmed at aid distribution centres in Gaza, saying that Israeli forces had been issued new instructions following what it called “lessons learned”.
A reminder that a previous ceasefire was agreed to this January, when an agreement was struck to exchange dozens of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinians in Israeli jails.
But in March, Israel broke the ceasefire and resumed large-scale attacks, killing more than 400 people on the first day alone. More below:
Andrew Roth
Donald Trump has claimed that Israel is ready to agree to a peace deal with Hamas as he seeks to broker a ceasefire to the war in Gaza that has claimed almost 60,000 lives.
In a post on Truthsocial, the US president wrote: “Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War.”
It is unclear what conditions specifically Israel has agreed to and Trump’s previous claims that Israel was ready to end the war, including a ceasefire negotiated before his inauguration in January, have quickly broken down as both sides have accused the other of violating agreements on prisoner exchanges.
Nonetheless, the claim comes after Trump brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, and on the same day as Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer reportedly met with secretary of state Marco Rubio and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
“The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring Peace, will deliver this final proposal,” Trump wrote. “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.”
Talk of a “final proposal” for a ceasefire come after a horrific Israeli attack at the Al-Baqa cafe on the Gaza seafront on Monday that medical and other officials said killed between 24 and 36 Palestinians.
Read more on the attack here:
Trump’s proclamation comes as the Red Cross warns that Gaza’s few functioning medical facilities were overwhelmed, with nearly all public hospitals “shut down or gutted by months of hostilities and restrictions” on supplies.
“The International Committee of the Red Cross is deeply alarmed by the intensifying hostilities in Gaza City and Jabaliya, which have reportedly caused dozens of deaths and injuries among civilians over the past 36 hours,” the ICRC said in a statement, as reported by Reuters.
Gaza’s civil defense service said 16 people were killed near aid distribution sites in central and southern Gaza on Tuesday, in the latest in a spate of deadly attacks on those seeking food, with 10 others killed in other Israeli operations.
President Donald Trump has urged Hamas militants to agree to what he called a “final proposal” for a 60-day ceasefire with Israel in Gaza that will be delivered by mediating officials from Qatar and Egypt, Reuters reports.
In a social media post, 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.
Trump 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!”
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.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza.
President Donald Trump has said that Israel has agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and warned Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen.
Trump announced the development as he prepares to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks at the White House on Monday. The US leader has been increasing pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas to broker a ceasefire and hostage agreement and bring about an end to the war in Gaza.
“My Representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza. Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War,” Trump wrote, saying the Qataris and Egyptians would deliver the final proposal.
“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,” he said.
Israeli minister for strategic affairs Ron Dermer was in Washington on Tuesday for talks with senior administration officials to discuss a potential Gaza ceasefire, Iran and other matters. Dermer was expected to meet with vice-president JD Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
