Trump says Gaza ceasefire possible ‘within the next week’, gives no details

US president’s assertion greeted with astonishment arsenic deaths spiral successful Gaza and Israeli forces accused of much ‘war crimes’ for shooting starving radical seeking nutrient aid.

United States President Donald Trump said helium believes a ceasefire successful Gaza betwixt Israel and Hamas could beryllium reached wrong a week.

Trump came retired with the astonishment remark portion speaking to reporters connected Friday, saying helium was hopeful aft speaking to immoderate of the radical progressive successful trying to get a truce.

“I deliberation it’s close. I conscionable spoke to immoderate of the radical involved,” Trump said.

“We deliberation wrong the adjacent week we’re going to get a ceasefire,” the president said, without revealing who helium had been successful interaction with.

Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Amman successful Jordan, said Trump’s remark volition beryllium “welcome news” to the starved and bombed colonisation of Gaza, but she besides cautioned that determination are “no negotiations astatine this infinitesimal happening anyplace successful the region”.

“What we bash cognize is that speech of a ceasefire accrued exponentially aft the ceasefire betwixt Israel and Iran. Israel does not privation to speech astir ending the war. In fact, the Israeli premier curate would beryllium risking a batch if helium did,” Odeh said.

But, she added, determination is an understanding, according to galore reports, that Netanyahu would person to hold to immoderate benignant of ceasefire successful speech for normalisation deals with Arab states, which the Trump medication has promoted.

Hamas, connected the different hand, requires that Israel halt its warfare connected Gaza and for the Israeli subject to retreat from areas it seized successful Gaza aft breaking the past ceasefire successful March.

“Hamas besides wants US guarantees that negotiations would proceed and that Israel wouldn’t interruption the ceasefire again if much clip was needed for negotiations,” Odeh added.

Trump’s ceasefire prediction comes astatine a clip of mounting killings by Israeli forces successful Gaza and increasing planetary condemnation of Israel’s warfare amid the latest revelation that soldiers said they were ordered to sprout unarmed Palestinian civilians seeking humanitarian assistance successful the territory.

Authorities successful Gaza said the study by the Haaretz media outlet that Israeli commanders ordered the deliberate shooting of starving Palestinians was further impervious of Israel’s “war crimes” successful the war-torn territory.

While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz person rejected the study of commanders targeting civilians, Gaza’s Health Ministry has reported that astir 550 Palestinians person been killed adjacent US- and Israel-backed assistance organisation points successful Gaza since precocious May.

“People are being killed simply trying to provender themselves and their families,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said connected Friday. “The hunt for nutrient indispensable ne'er beryllium a decease sentence,” helium said.

Medical foundation Doctors Without Borders (also known by its French acronym MSF) branded the concern successful Gaza arsenic “slaughter masquerading arsenic humanitarian aid”.

A spokesperson for the bureau of Trump’s peculiar envoy, Steve Witkoff, said they had nary accusation to stock astir a imaginable ceasefire breakthrough successful Gaza.

Witkoff helped erstwhile US President Joe Biden’s aides broker a ceasefire and captive merchandise statement successful Gaza soon earlier Trump took bureau successful January. But the truce was breached by Israel successful March erstwhile it launched a question of astonishment bombing attacks crossed the territory.

Israeli officials said that lone subject enactment would effect successful the instrumentality of captives held successful Gaza, and imposed a blockade connected food, water, medicine and substance entering the territory that led to wide starvation among the 2.1 cardinal population.

Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer is scheduled to sojourn Washington adjacent week for talks with Trump medication officials connected Gaza, Iran and a imaginable White House sojourn by Netanyahu, according to a root acquainted with the matter.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies