Trump urges Hamas to accept truce deal

U.S. President Donald Trump has urged Palestinian militant group Hamas to agree to his final proposal of a ceasefire that "Israel has agreed to" ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington next week.

In a social media post on Tuesday, Trump said his representatives had a "long and productive" meeting with Israeli officials about Gaza and that Qatar and Egypt would deliver the "final proposal" to Hamas.

"Israel has agreed to necessary conditions to finalize the 60-day ceasefire during which time we will work with all parties to end the war," he said. "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."

Also on Tuesday, Trump told reporters at the White House that he would be "very firm" with Netanyahu on the need to end the conflict in Gaza during their meeting.

Hamas said on Wednesday that it is reviewing new ceasefire proposals from mediators. And The Times of Israel reported on Wednesday that Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir reached out to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to request that they form a united bloc within the government to oppose the Gaza ceasefire deal being pushed by the Trump administration.

In a phone call on Tuesday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani discussed joint mediation efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The two ministers reviewed the efforts of their countries, along with the United States, to resume the ceasefire, stop the Palestinian bloodshed, secure the release of hostages and detainees, and ensure the urgent and unhindered flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Abdelatty said Cairo was working on a new Gaza deal that includes a 60-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages and entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Looming starvation

These developments came just as the World Food Programme warned on Tuesday that the "window to push back starvation in Gaza is closing fast".

In a post on X, the agency said its teams were adapting in real time — setting up new distribution points, navigating extreme constraints and using every safe route to reach people where they are.

In a similar appeal, more than 100 NGOs, including Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders, and the Norwegian Refugee Council, also called for immediate action to end the deadly Israeli distribution scheme by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, they said 500 Palestinians had been killed while 4,000 injured in less than four weeks, trying to access or distribute food.

"Israeli forces and armed groups — some reportedly operating with backing from Israeli authorities — now routinely open fire on desperate civilians risking everything just to survive," the statement said.

Further, it said, Palestinians in Gaza face an impossible choice — starve or risk being shot while trying desperately to reach food to feed their families, describing the incidents as "some of the deadliest and most violent since October 2023".

"The humanitarian system is being deliberately and systematically dismantled by the government of Israel's blockade and restrictions, a blockade now being used to justify shutting down nearly all other aid operations in favor of a deadly, military-controlled alternative that neither protects civilians nor meets basic needs."

Mehmet Rakipoglu, an assistant professor of political science and international relations at Mardin Artuklu University in Turkiye, told China Daily that since Trump's return to the White House in January, he has been working on a ceasefire in both Ukraine and the "genocide in Gaza", which has been committed by Israel "with the help of the United States".

Rakipoglu said Hamas thinks that Israel will be fragmented in terms of its domestic politics because Netanyahu's coalition government includes other parties that have always wanted the conflict in Gaza to continue.

"If the war ends, most probably we will see the collapse of the government of Netanyahu and the coalition. Then we will see more fragmentation in Israel politics," he said.

"After Oct 7 (of 2023), Israeli reactions became a burden on Trump and other Western countries. That's why they want to end the war."