Gaza: After 58,000 deaths, Trump says Israel ready for a 60-day ceasefire
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit next week, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Israel has agreed to finalise 60-day Gaza ceasefire, and also urged terror outfit Hamas to accept the deal.
The ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, which has claimed nearly 58,000 lives, started after Hamas launched a major surprise terror attack on Southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killed over 1200 people, including foreigners, and took hostage around 250, many of whom died in their custody. Responding, Israel levelled much of the Strip with carpet bombing, killed nearly 56,000, and wounded many more.
Since then, much of Gaza has been reduced to rubble. Over 90 percent of the territory’s 2.3 million people have been displaced, many multiple times, and the region is facing an escalating humanitarian crisis.
Israel has not yet publicly responded to Trump’s fresh announcement. Prime Minister Netanyahu is scheduled to visit the White House on Monday next week for talks, following a recent meeting between senior adviser Ron Dermer and top US officials.
“Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War,” Trump said on social media.
“The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring Peace, will deliver this final proposal. I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE.”
Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer was in Washington on Tuesday for talks with senior administration officials to discuss a potential Gaza ceasefire, Iran and other matters. Dermer was also expected to meet with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.
The development came as over 150 international charities and humanitarian groups called Tuesday for disbanding a controversial Israeli- and U.S.-backed system to distribute aid in Gaza because of chaos and deadly violence against Palestinians seeking food at its sites.
Hamas on Wednesday signalled openness to a ceasefire agreement with Israel but stopped short of accepting a US-backed proposal unveiled by President Trump just hours earlier. The terror group reiterated its long-standing demand that any deal must bring a complete end to the war in Gaza.
The US President, desperately chasing a Nobel Peace Prize but woefully lacking global validation to his aspirations, has stepped up pressure on both Israel and Hamas to secure a ceasefire, facilitate hostage releases, and move toward ending the war.
“The 60-day period would be used to work toward ending the war,” Trump said, although Israel insists that the conflict won’t end until Hamas is completely defeated. Trump suggested a deal might materialize as early as next week.
A major stumbling block throughout the 21-month war has been the opposing views on how the conflict should end. Hamas says it is willing to release the remaining 50 hostages, fewer than half of whom are believed to be alive, in exchange for a complete Israeli withdrawal and a formal end to hostilities.
Israel, however, insists that the war will only end with Hamas’ surrender, disarmament, and exile, terms Hamas continues to reject.
Even before the last ceasefire expired in March, the US President had issued multiple ultimatums, urging Hamas to accept extended pauses in the conflict in exchange for aid and hostage releases.
More than 56,000 people have died in the Palestinian territory, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which reports that over half of the dead are women and children. The ministry does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
