Trump calls for end to Gaza war

2025-06-29 14:32:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

US President Donald Trump called on Sunday for progress in ceasefire talks in the Gaza conflict, urging the sides to agree to end the 20-month war.

An Israeli official has said that plans are being made for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to travel to Washington in the coming weeks, a signal that there may be movement towards a new agreement.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official declined to discuss the focus of the visit.

"AGREE ON A DEAL ON GAZA. RETURN THE HOSTAGES!!!" Trump wrote on the social network, Truth Social, on Sunday.

Trump has raised expectations for a deal since Friday, when he said a ceasefire agreement could be reached next week.

Responding to journalists' questions, he said that "we are working for Gaza and we are trying to take care of it."

He has repeatedly called for Israel and Hamas — a Palestinian group designated a terrorist group by the United States and other powers — to end the war in Gaza. Despite an eight-week ceasefire reached as Trump began his presidency, attempts to reconcile the parties on a new deal have failed.

Netanyahu's top adviser, Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, is expected to travel to Washington within days to negotiate the ceasefire.

About 50 hostages remain in Gaza, and less than half are believed to be alive. They are among the roughly 250 hostages taken by Hamas — a Palestinian group designated a terrorist organization by the United States and other powers — in an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering a war that has now lasted 21 months.

More than 56,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to Gaza health authorities. Of these, the majority are believed to be women and children.

Hopes for an agreement have increased with Trump's involvement in the issue.

Hamas has said it is willing to release the hostages in exchange for an end to the war in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will end the war only after Hamas disarms, something the group has rejected.

Meanwhile, starving Palestinians are living in a situation described as catastrophic.

After blocking all aid for two and a half months, Israel allowed a small amount of aid into the Gaza Strip in mid-May./ Rel