On Friday, President Donald Trump mentioned that we should find out within the next 24 hours if Hamas has agreed to what he termed the “final proposal” for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
He also indicated that discussions with Saudi Arabia were underway about broadening the Abraham Accords, which were established during his presidency to normalize relations between Israel and several Gulf states.
Earlier this week, Trump noted that Israel had met the necessary conditions to achieve a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas, while allowing political factions to focus on concluding the ongoing conflict.
When asked about Hamas’s response to the ceasefire proposal, he stated, “We’ll see what happens and we’ll know for the next 24 hours.”
A source familiar with Hamas mentioned that various Muslim groups had called for this initiative, suggesting that the new US-supported ceasefire would help resolve the conflict in Gaza.
Meanwhile, two Israeli officials indicated that some of the finer details are still being worked out. Reports on Thursday indicated that numerous Palestinians lost their lives due to Israeli strikes, highlighting the continuing violence in the region.
This renewed violence follows an earlier escalation in October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel, resulting in approximately 1,200 deaths and around 250 hostages being taken. Gaza’s health ministry claims that subsequent Israeli military actions have led to the deaths of over 56,000 Palestinians.
The ongoing conflict has not only exacerbated humanitarian crises but has also raised serious accusations of genocide and war crimes, which Israel continues to deny.
Previous ceasefires were short-lived, with the last one collapsing after Israeli strikes resulted in over 400 Palestinian fatalities on March 18th. Trump has faced international backlash for suggesting the acquisition of Gaza, which many view as a form of ethnic cleansing.
Abraham Accord
Regarding the Abraham Accords, Trump confirmed that during a late Thursday meeting at the White House with Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, they discussed potential expansions of the agreement.
“That’s one of the things we talked about,” Trump stated, suggesting many parties could become involved in the expanded agreement, especially given the recent US-Israel military actions against Iran.
Axios reported that following the discussions with Trump, Saudi officials had a conversation with general staff from the Iranian military. Additionally, the visit from Saudi officials coincided with a planned meeting in Washington with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next week.
