US President Donald Trump announced that a ceasefire agreement and prisoner release between Hamas and Israel in Gaza is close.
"We are very close to reaching an agreement on Gaza, and we will make an announcement today or tomorrow," Trump said from his office in the White House on Friday.
Earlier today, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) announced that it is consulting with Palestinian forces and factions regarding US Middle East envoy Steven Witkoff's proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Hamas said in a statement, "We are holding consultations with Palestinian forces and factions regarding the ceasefire proposal we recently received from Witkov via mediators (Egypt and Qatar)."
On Thursday, Hamas announced that it had received a proposal from mediators for a prisoner exchange and ceasefire, and that it was studying it "responsibly" in a way that serves the interests of the Palestinian people, "contributes to their relief, and achieves a permanent ceasefire."
The Israeli government approved Witkoff's proposal for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange in Gaza on Thursday, with Israeli media describing it as more biased toward Israel than previous proposals.
Israel's Channel 12 quoted Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir on Friday as saying that a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached for a swap deal, adding, "We will not allow the war to drag on indefinitely."
שתף את דעתך
Trump: We will make an announcement regarding the Gaza agreement today or tomorrow.