President Trump has announced one more peace pact: a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza. This is the ceasefire that everyone across the globe has been clamoring for, but while Trump has assured that Israel has accepted his deal, there’s no word yet on how Hamas has received the proposal.
CNN reports that Trump took to Truth Social to give as much context as he possibly could about the very clearly still ongoing discussions. Trump started his post by assuring, “Israel has agreed to all necessary conditions to finalize the 60-day ceasefire.” He went on to say that Egyptians and the Qataris will convey his proposal to Hamas. Then, in true Trump fashion, he finished off his attempt at negotiation with a floating threat that “things will not get better” if they don’t take the deal.
The conditions in Gaza right now are deplorable. The British Red Cross has termed the situation a “desperate humanitarian crisis,” offering horrific stats: more than 1 in 5 people in Gaza are facing starvation, and 90% of the population has been forced to flee their homes. And that’s not even mentioning the tens of thousands who have reportedly died. Everyone, regardless of party leanings, thinks these numbers are unacceptable.
While Trump’s claim would normally be met with relief — and probably even a renewed call for Nobel prizes from MAGA — CNN reports have already slightly refuted Trump’s claims. Reportedly, Trump made the announcement prematurely again. A source shared that Israel had not actually approved the proposal, and other sources assured that within Israeli ranks, they still don’t consider their “war goals” fully achieved.
President Trump has, of course, already made this mistake before with his declaration of a brokered ceasefire between Iran and Israel, only for the two countries to break the ceasefire a couple of hours later. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained that his primary goal remains to bring the hostages home and that now that the US helped them neutralize regional foe Iran, he considers that “many opportunities have opened up.” The two leaders of the allies have an upcoming meeting this Monday where this ceasefire — whether it happens or not — will surely be discussed.
President Trump has reportedly been having screaming matches with the Israeli leader on the phone, and he has certainly proved he’s not above just verbally squabbling in front of cameras in the Oval Office, so we’ll see what happens. But what we do know is that Trump has publicly stated he expects a deal to be finalized by next week, suggesting a final round of negotiation will happen in the coming days.
Trump has sold himself to his base as a deal maker, and regardless of how people get there — for many around the world, this deal has to happen. Too many innocent lives are being affected. CNN reports that Hamas has been pushing for a permanent ceasefire, so accepting 60 days instead will also be a challenge. But a source has assured that they might be willing to negotiate that too.
