US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that “great progress” was being made to end the war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, reported AFP.
“I think great progress is being made on Gaza,” Trump told reporters, adding that his special envoy Steve Witkoff had told him that “Gaza is very close.”
The development comes days after Trump declared a ceasefire between Israel and Iran to end their 12-day war.
Qatar, a key mediator in the Gaza war, had also announced on Tuesday that it would launch a new push for a ceasefire, while Hamas said that talks had stepped up.
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“Our communications with the brother mediators in Egypt and Qatar have not stopped and have intensified in recent hours,” Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP.
He, however, cautioned, however, that the group had “not yet received any new proposals” to end the war.
Meanwhile, the Israeli government declined to comment on any new ceasefire talks, according to AFP.
Israel-Hamas war
Israel has pledged to take control of Gaza and continue its efforts until Hamas is either destroyed, disarmed, or exiled, as well as until the militant group returns the remaining 58 hostages captured during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that ignited the conflict.
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Hamas-led militants killed some 1,219 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in the 2023 attack. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 56,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, according to the Associated Press.
Of the 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants during the Hamas attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
Human rights groups say Gaza and its population of more than two million face famine-like conditions due to Israeli restrictions, with near-daily deaths of people queuing for food aid.
