Trump Expects Gaza Ceasefire Deal Next Week After Hamas Positive Response

US President Donald Trump said he is increasingly confident that Israel and Hamas could finalise a Gaza ceasefire within the coming week, citing what he called a “positive spirit” in Hamas’s response to a US-brokered proposal. “We think we’re going to get a ceasefire sometime next week,” Trump told reporters at the White House on 27 June and reiterated aboard Air Force One on 5 July.

Trump indicated the emerging deal envisions an initial 60-day truce and the staged release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. “We want to get our hostages back,” he said, adding that both sides had accepted the “necessary conditions to finalise” the agreement, although he had not yet received a full briefing on the status of the talks.

The president said he would be “very firm” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on ending the war when the two meet in Washington on 7 July. Trump nonetheless underscored that Netanyahu “wants to end it too,” and suggested the Israeli leader shares the goal of concluding a ceasefire deal next week.

Hamas, in a statement relayed by Egyptian and Qatari mediators, confirmed it had completed internal consultations and was ready to enter negotiations on implementing the framework. The group seeks guarantees on Israeli troop withdrawals, humanitarian aid flows and a durable halt to hostilities. Despite the diplomatic movement, Gaza health officials said Israeli strikes killed at least 18 people overnight, underscoring the urgency of a formal truce.