United States (US) President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that Israel had “agreed to the necessary conditions” required to finalise a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza.

 

Two administration officials said Hamas still had to agree to the deal. In a post on Truth social, President Trump wrote, “Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalise the 60-day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War.”

 

He further said that the Qataris and the Egyptians, “who have worked very hard to help bring Peace”, would deliver the final proposal.

 

“My Representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza,” the US president wrote, adding, “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. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

 

The new proposal comes days after Qatar reportedly helped broker a ceasefire between Iran and Israel after US and Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear program last month.

 

The end of Israel's 12-day war with Iran, which followed a US bombing mission on Tehran's nuclear sites has provided a window of opportunity for a deal, with Trump keen to add another peace agreement to a series of recent deals he has brokered.

 

Israel's campaign, meanwhile, continued to rage on, with Gaza's civil defense agency reporting Israeli forces killed at least 26 people on Tuesday.

 

Aid seekers killed

 

The Red Cross warned that Gaza's few functioning medical facilities were overwhelmed, with nearly all public hospitals “shut down or gutted by months of hostilities and restrictions” on supplies.

 

“The International Committee of the Red Cross is deeply alarmed by the intensifying hostilities in Gaza City and Jabaliya, which have reportedly caused dozens of deaths and injuries among civilians over the past 36 hours,” the ICRC said in a statement.

 

Gaza's civil defense service said 16 people were killed near aid distribution sites in central and southern Gaza on Tuesday, in the latest in a spate of deadly attacks on those seeking food, with 10 others killed in other Israeli operations.

 

Commenting on the incidents, the Israeli military told AFP its forces “fired warning shots to distance suspects who approached the troops”, adding it was not aware of any injuries but would review the incidents.

 

Referring to an incident in Rafah, it said the shots were fired “hundreds of meters (yards) away from the aid distribution site”, which was “not operating”.

 

Aid reform call

 

A group of 169 aid organizations called Monday for an end to Gaza's "deadly" new US- and Israeli-backed aid distribution scheme which they said was leading to civilian deaths.

 

They urged a return to the UN-led aid mechanism that existed until March, when Israel imposed a full blockade on humanitarian assistance entering Gaza during an impasse in truce talks with Hamas.

 

Netanyahu's US visit

 

Netanyahu announced he would visit Trump and senior US security officials next week, amid mounting pressure to end the devastating genocide in Gaza and bring the remaining hostages home.

 

Trump, while visiting a migrant detention center in Florida, said Netanyahu "wants to end it too."

 

Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP the group is "ready to agree to any proposal if it will lead to an end to the war and a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of occupation forces".

 

"So far, there has been no breakthrough."