Trump says he may travel to Middle East as Gaza deal ‘very close’

United States President Donald Trump says indirect talks betwixt Hamas and Israel implicit a imaginable ceasefire successful the warfare connected Gaza and an speech of captives were going “very well” and that helium whitethorn question to the Middle East aboriginal this week.

Speaking to reporters astatine the White House connected Wednesday, Trump said that a woody is “very close”.

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“Negotiations are going on precise well,” helium said. “I whitethorn spell determination sometime toward the extremity of the week, possibly connected Sunday,” helium said.

Senior officials from Qatar, Turkiye, Egypt and the US joined the delegations successful Egypt’s Red Sea edifice of Sharm el-Sheikh connected Wednesday, the 3rd time of the talks, arsenic the mediators pressed the 2 sides to resoluteness their differences implicit Trump’s 20-point proposal.

The archetypal signifier of the program calls for a ceasefire and the merchandise of 48 Israeli captives held successful Gaza, including 20 who are believed to beryllium alive, and the merchandise of Palestinian prisoners held successful appalling conditions successful Israeli jails.

Hamas has submitted its database of detainees to beryllium freed arsenic portion of the projected swap.

Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and peculiar envoy Steve Witkoff, arsenic good arsenic Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer – a adjacent adjutant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – were participating successful the negotiations connected Wednesday, Israeli and Palestinian sources said.

Also joining the discussions was the premier curate of longstanding cardinal mediator Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.

The Hamas delegation includes leaders Khalil al-Hayya and Zaher Jabarin, 2 negotiators who survived an Israeli assassination attempt in Qatar’s superior Doha that killed 5 radical past month.

In a connection released precocious Wednesday, elder Hamas authoritative Izzat al-Risheq said the radical welcomes the information of Qatar’s premier curate and Turkiye’s quality chief, alongside Egypt’s quality chief, successful the existent circular of talks.

He said their engagement gives the negotiations “a beardown boost” towards achieving affirmative results connected ending the warfare and facilitating a captive exchange.

A delegation from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) equipped radical is besides acceptable to get successful Egypt to enactment successful the indirect talks, according to a connection from the group.

The PIJ is the smaller of the 2 main Palestinian groups successful the Gaza Strip and is presently holding immoderate Israeli captives.

For his part, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the mediated negotiations had made “a batch of headway” and that a ceasefire would beryllium declared if they reached a affirmative outcome.

Al Jazeera’s elder governmental expert Marwan Bishara says the talks stay tense with “some superior disagreements”, arsenic important details are yet to beryllium hammered retired – including the timing and the grade of an Israeli withdrawal, the constitution of the post-war medication for the Gaza Strip and the destiny of Hamas.

“You could accidental that the archetypal signifier of the archetypal signifier is moving out,” Bishara said. According to him, some sides appeared to hold connected “some benignant of parameters” for a captive-prisoner exchange.

“According to the plan, … aft Hamas hands implicit the captives, past the warfare should beryllium over,” Bishara said. “Israel says no, the warfare volition beryllium implicit lone aft Hamas disarms.”

Israeli attacks continue

Even arsenic the talks progressed connected Wednesday, Israel continued its attacks connected Gaza. At slightest 8 Palestinians were killed crossed Gaza implicit the erstwhile 24 hours, the Palestinian Health Ministry said connected Wednesday. At slightest 61 others were injured successful attacks, it said.

Gaza’s Government Media Office said successful a connection connected Wednesday that Israel carried retired 271 aerial and artillery strikes implicit the past 5 days contempt calls from the US to halt the bombardment. The attacks targeted densely populated areas and shelters for displaced radical crossed the enclave, sidesplitting 126 civilians, including women and children – with 75 of them successful Gaza City alone.

Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from cardinal Gaza’s az-Zawayda, said the concern connected the crushed “looks highly bleak” arsenic Israeli drones are inactive targeting residential buildings, peculiarly successful Gaza City.

“Civilians person said the standard of bombardment sounds little aggravated successful examination with the days preceding the onset of the existent circular of negotiations,” Abu Azzoum said.

“They accidental that mightiness beryllium a motion that mediators are exerting further unit connected Israel to astatine slightest mitigate the standard of its bombardment connected Gaza for 1 reason: It’s to let for Hamas fighters to retrieve bodies of Israeli captives arsenic portion of the archetypal signifier of the ceasefire deal,” helium said.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that conscionable 14 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are partially functioning, and lone a 3rd of 176 superior attraction facilities work.

Hanan Balkhy, WHO determination manager for the Eastern Mediterranean, said Gaza has been struggling with “dire shortages” of electricity, cleanable h2o and medicine, arsenic good arsenic breached instrumentality and damaged infrastructure successful those wellness facilities inactive working.

“Some facilities person been deed and rehabilitated and deed erstwhile more,” she said.

Israel’s genocide successful Gaza has killed much than 67,000 people, according to wellness authorities, and has destroyed ample swaths of onshore successful the enclave wherever astir each 2 cardinal residents person been forcibly displaced.