Negotiations to end the fighting in Gaza were intense and productive, Donald Trump said Friday night, and “would continue as long as necessary,” after the president met with Arab leaders in New York to discuss the famine-stricken enclave.
“Intense negotiations have been going on for four days, and will continue for as long as necessary in order to get a Successfully Completed Agreement,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, calling the discussions “very inspired and productive.”
Trump did not provide any details about the agreement being discussed, but he has previously insisted that Hamas return all of the remaining Israeli hostages kept in Gaza as part of any deal. In his post he called for “PERMANENT AND LONGLASTING PEACE!”
Negotiations for either a complete end to the fighting or a temporary ceasefire and hostage exchange have previously stalled as both Israel and Hamas have accused the other of reneging on promises, changing details, and rejecting deals accepted by the other.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faced a mass walkout as he spoke at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday, has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas has been disarmed, and to maintain lasting security control over Gaza.
After dozens of diplomats left the room, Netanyahu reiterated his intention to "finish the job" against Hamas in Gaza, in a combative speech which also saw him attack the recognition of a Palestinian state by multiple Western countries.
Palestinians check the damage outside a house hit by Israeli bombing in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday. EYAD BABA / AFP - Getty Images
Israel and the U.S. have both said that the move risks rewarding Hamas, who carried out the deadliest attack in Israeli history on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people taking 251 hostages into Gaza.
Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.
Trump said Friday that the militant group was “very much aware of these discussions, and Israel has been informed at all levels,” including Netanyahu. “There is more Goodwill and Enthusiasm for getting a Deal done, after so many decades, than I have ever seen before,” he added.
Trump presented proposals to Arab nations on Monday — including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt — during a meeting held on the sidelines of the annual General Assembly on, according to his special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Netanyahu meanwhile, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the United Arab Emirates in New York Friday. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed stressed an urgent need to end the war in Gaza and to reach a permanent and sustainable ceasefire, his office said.
Bin Zayed also reiterated support for efforts to achieve a two-state solution in Gaza, at the same time as Israel pushes ahead with a widely condemned settlement plan that would effectively split the West Bank in two, further fracturing what Palestinians envision as their future state.
UAE leaders have previously said annexation of the West Bank would be a red line for the influential Gulf state, blocking any future recognition of Israel and preventing the completion of Trump’s landmark Abraham Accords that sought to establish diplomatic normalization between Israel and several Arab states including the UAE.
Trump said Thursday that he would not let Israel annex the occupied West Bank. “It’s not going to happen,” he told reporters.
Israel has killed more than 65,000 people in Gaza over the past 23 months, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave. It has also destroyed vast areas of the Strip, displaced around 90% of the population and caused a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.
In September, Israel launched a widely condemned ground offensive into Gaza City, the enclave's most populous area, driving hundreds of thousands from the area, many of whom have previously been displaced on multiple occasions.
Doctors Without Borders said Friday that it had been forced to leave the city in northern Gaza. “We have been left with no choice but to stop our activities, as our clinics are encircled by Israeli forces,” it said on X.
Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 40 people across Gaza on Saturday, including 23 from Gaza City, Dr. Khalil Al-Daqran, a spokesperson for Gaza's Ministry of Health, told NBC News.
The spiraling conflict in the Middle East has been a focal point of the General Assembly this week. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the gathering Thursday, albeit by video after the U.S. last month revoked his visa, along with those of other Palestinian Authority officials.
Palestinians in Gaza “have been facing a war of genocide, destruction, starvation and displacement” by Israel, he said, adding that Palestinians rejected Hamas’ terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023 and that action did not represent their people.
[SRC] https://www.nbcnews.com/world/middle-east/trump-israel-gaza-war-netanyahu-un-hamas-ceasefire-famine-rcna234056
