Trump says a Gaza ceasefire is closer than ever. The reality is more complicated
By Kevin Liptak, Oren Liebermann, CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump emerged from talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday declaring an end to the war in Gaza was closer than ever after Netanyahu agreed to a 20-point plan laying out the parameters of a ceasefire.
The proposal, which Trump unveiled publicly for the first time, still requires sign-off from Hamas. And there are a number of provisions contained in the plan which the terror group has previously rejected.
Still, Trump appeared hopeful that after nearly two years of war, an end to the conflict – which has left tens of thousands dead and Gaza in ruins – may be at hand.
“I think we are beyond very close,” Trump said at the start of an appearance with Netanyahu in the White House State Dining Room. “We’re not quite finished. We have to get Hamas.”
The plan calls for the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas – both alive and dead – within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting the agreement, meaning the clock is already ticking for the group to agree.
Both Trump and Netanyahu warned of sharp consequences if Hamas turns down the proposal.
“I hope that we’re going to have a deal for peace, and if Hamas rejects the deal, which is always possible – they’re the only one left, everyone else has accepted it – but I have a feeling that we’re going to have a positive answer,” Trump said during statements at the White House.
“If Hamas rejects your plan, Mr. President, or if they supposedly accept it and then do everything to counter it, then Israel will finish the job by itself,” Netanyahu said. “This can be done the easy way or it can be done the hard way, but it will be done.”
Trump said Israel would have his “full backing” to continue going after Hamas if the group rejects the deal.
Neither man took questions at the conclusion of their appearance, saying it would be better to wait until the plan was finalized and agreed to by all parties.
An agreement to end the nearly two-year war in Gaza would amount to a major diplomatic victory for Trump, who has openly campaigned for a Nobel Peace Prize and had grown increasingly frustrated at his inability to end the conflict. It could also – in the view of American officials – unlock a broader plan that would transform the Middle East, potentially opening the door to the expansion of the Abraham Accords that saw Israel normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The agreements were the signature foreign policy accomplishment of Trump’s first term in office.
Ahead of Monday’s announcement, Trump had been publicly projecting confidence an agreement was at hand, even as Netanyahu stopped short of endorsing the proposal. “We’re working on it,” Netanyahu said over the weekend. “It’s not been finalized yet.” White House officials described the proposal as the best plan Israel or Hamas could expect.
The Trump administration’s renewed push for a ceasefire in Gaza comes as a number of Western countries recognized a Palestinian state at last week’s United Nations General Assembly.
A previous plan circulated by the administration in recent days called for the release of all 48 remaining hostages – 20 of whom are believed to still be alive – in exchange for an end to the war and a phased withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. That plan, like the one released Monday, denied Hamas any future role in the governance of Gaza, instead calling for two levels of interim governance: an international body and a Palestinian committee.
The Monday plan describes the international body as being called the “Board of Peace,” chaired by Trump, “with other members and heads of State to be announced,” including Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Trump said it wasn’t his decision to head up the body — “Believe me, I’m very busy,” he said — but said that he agreed to it anyway.
“The leaders of the Arab world and Israel and everybody involved asked me to do this,” he said.
The last round of negotiations in late-July, which were also marked by significant optimism, fell apart when the US surprisingly withdrew from the talks, followed closely by Israel. Both countries blamed Hamas for not negotiating in good faith.
For months, Trump has grown exasperated at Netanyahu’s resistance to ending the war, and his expanding military operations in the Middle East, White House officials said. Once confident his personal relationship with Netanyahu would push the Israeli leader toward a resolution, Trump has wondered aloud in recent months whether he was being played by a man he’s described as a friend.
Those sentiments deepened when Israel launched strikes in the Qatari capital Doha to eliminate Hamas leaders earlier this month. Trump was furious at the operation, worrying it could stymie efforts to mediate an end to the war, especially days after the Trump administration had put forward a previous ceasefire proposal, people familiar with the matter said. On Monday, before Trump and Netanyahu’s announcement, Netanyahu “expressed his deep regret” in a phone call with Qatar’s prime minister that the strike killed a Qatari serviceman, according to the White House.
Yet Trump so far has stopped short of a public break with Netanyahu, and he has not withheld the US military or financial support for Israel that could act as leverage with his counterpart.
Trump has been openly optimistic about a ceasefire before, predicting several times that a cessation of hostilities was just a few days or a week away. But until now, his predictions have not come to fruition, and the war has continued unabated. In August, Israel’s security cabinet approved the takeover and occupation of Gaza City, which Netanyahu said was one of Hamas’ last remaining strongholds.
The massive military assault on Gaza’s largest urban area crushed hopes of an imminent end to the war.
More than 66,000 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the war, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, including more than 17,000 children. In the attack that ignited the conflict on October 7, 2023, Hamas and other militant groups killed approximately 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped more than 250 others.
Since then, there have been only two ceasefires. The first truce came into effect in November 2023, but lasted only a week. In that time, 105 hostages were released from Gaza, in exchange for scores of Palestinian prisoners.
A second ceasefire was not struck until January 2025, shortly before Trump’s return to the White House. In just over eight weeks – the first “phase” of the ceasefire – Hamas freed 33 hostages, with Israel releasing around 50 Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli freed.
Under the planned second stage, Israel was supposed to agree to a permanent ceasefire. But Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, shattering the ceasefire and derailing the talks, saying it did so to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages.
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