Trump claims that Israel has accepted the conditions for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza.

 

Israel has agreed to the "necessary conditions" to finalise a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, US President Donald Trump has said.

 In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that during the proposed ceasefire the US would "work with all parties to end the War".  He did not provide details on what the ceasefire would entail.

 "This final proposal will be delivered by the Qataris and Egyptians, who have put in a lot of effort to bring about peace. I hope... that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE," Trump wrote.

 Israel has not confirmed it agreed to the conditions of a deal.  The BBC was informed by a Hamas official that the organization is "ready and serious" to reach an agreement if the war ends. According to Taher al-Nunu, Hamas is "prepared to agree to any proposal if the conditions for ending the war are clearly met or if they lead to its complete end." On X, Israel's foreign minister, Gideon Sa'ar, stated that this opportunity "must not be missed" and that the majority of the government supports "a framework to release hostages." Trump's announcement comes before a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scheduled for next week, in which the US president has said he would be "very firm".

 On Tuesday, the president of the United States stated that he believed Netanyahu wanted to end the fighting in Gaza. "He wants to.  He wants to, I can tell you. I think we'll have a deal next week," Trump added.

 On Tuesday, Israel's Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer was due to meet US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance in Washington.

 Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, previously stated to the BBC that the country was "absolutely" prepared for a ceasefire. Speaking on the BBC News channel, Danon said that Hamas was "playing hardball".

 "We are putting pressure on Hamas, and if they will not come to the table, the only option we will have to bring back the hostages, is to apply more military pressure," Danon said.

 He continued, "When the hostages are back home, the war will end." Around 50 Israeli hostages are still in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

 Last week, a senior Hamas official told the BBC mediators have increased efforts to broker a new ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, but that negotiations with Israel remain stalled.

 Israel has said the conflict can only end when Hamas has been completely dismantled.  Hamas has long called for a permanent truce and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

 Trump made the remarks shortly after Israel ordered evacuations in the northern part of Gaza in preparation for more military action. At least 20 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike on a seafront cafe in Gaza City on Monday, according to medics and eyewitnesses.

 Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza after Hamas's 7 October, 2023 attack on Israel, in which around 1,200 people were killed.  At least 56,647 have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

 The Israeli military this week also said it was examining reports of civilians being "harmed" while approaching aid distribution centres in Gaza run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

 Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said on Tuesday that as of 28 June, 408 people had been killed trying to reach aid at GHF aid sites.

 More than 170 charities and other NGOs have called for the controversial group to be shut down.  According to organizations like Save the Children and Oxfam, Israeli forces "regularly" fire on Palestinians seeking aid. Israel denies this accusation and says the organisation is necessary to bypass Hamas interference in aid distribution.

 In March, a previous ceasefire deal collapsed when Israel launched fresh strikes on Gaza.  The Israeli military described the action as "pre-emptive strikes... based on Hamas's readiness to execute terror attacks, build up force and re-arm".

 The previous ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas began on January 19 and was intended to be brokenred into three stages; however, it did not progress past the first stage. Stage two included establishing a permanent ceasefire, the return of remaining living hostages in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.