Trump says Gaza ceasefire is possible within a week

By Trevor Hunnicutt, Steve Holland and Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump said on Friday he believes it is possible that a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hamas militants will be reached within a week.

Trump, at an Oval Office event celebrating a Congo-Rwanda accord, told reporters that he believes a ceasefire is close. He said he had been just been talking to some of the people involved in trying to reach a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas in the Palestinian enclave.

Hamas has said it is willing to free remaining hostages in Gaza under any deal to end the war, while Israel says it can only end if Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms.

The war in Gaza was triggered when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Gaza's health ministry says Israel's post-Oct.7 military assault has killed over 56,000 Palestinians. The assault has also caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza's entire population and prompted accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the accusations.

Interest in resolving the Gaza conflict has picked up steam in the wake of the U.S. and Israeli bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities. A ceasefire to the 12-day Israel-Iran conflict went into effect early this week.

"I think it's close. I just spoke to some of the people involved," Trump said. "We think within the next week we're going to get a ceasefire."

He did not say who he has been talking to, but he has told reporters he was in near-daily contact with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the Israel-Iran conflict.

Trump's surprise prediction of a possible ceasefire deal in coming days came at a time when there have been few signs that the warring parties were ready to restart serious negotiations or budge from entrenched positions.

A spokesperson for U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff's office said they had no information to share beyond Trump's comments.

Witkoff helped former President Joe Biden's aides broker a ceasefire and hostage release agreement shortly before Trump took office in January but the deal soon unravelled.

The Israeli embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer plans to visit Washington starting on Monday for talks with Trump administration officials about Gaza, Iran and a possible White House visit by Netanyahu, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Netanyahu said on Thursday the outcome of Israel's war with Iran presented opportunities for peace that his country must not waste.

"This victory presents an opportunity for a dramatic widening of peace agreements. We are working on this with enthusiasm," Netanyahu said in a statement.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Steve Holland; additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Kanishka Singh; editing by Diane Craft)