MORRISTOWN – US President Donald Trump said on Sunday there was a “good chance” of a hostage deal with Hamas “during the week,” ahead of his upcoming meeting with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu said Sunday he hoped his talks in Washington could “help advance” a Gaza ceasefire deal.
Trump and Netanyahu are scheduled to meet at the White House on Monday — the Israeli prime minister’s third visit since Trump returned to power in January.
Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas were underway in Qatar Sunday.
“We’ve gotten a lot of the hostages out, but pertaining to the remaining hostages, quite a few of them will be coming out,” Trump added.
He said the United States was “working on a lot of things” with Israel, including “probably a permanent deal with Iran.”
Trump also repeated claims that US strikes “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities during the 12-day Iran-Israel conflict.
Since the start of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, mediators have brokered pauses in fighting during which hostages were freed in exchange for Israel-held Palestinian prisoners.
Of the 251 hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the October 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s military campaign, lack of food and dire humanitarian conditions for more than 2 million people in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 57,418 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
The United Nations considers the figures reliable.
Hamas’s October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figure. – AFP
