President Donald Trump has suggested that a ceasefire in the Gaza could be reached within a week.
The US president told reporters on Friday that he believed a ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hamas was close.
Mr Trump’s administration has been working on a deal after Israel shattered a two-month truce with Hamas by launching strikes in April.
Weeks later, he voiced optimism a deal would be reached to stop the conflict and secure the release of more hostages.
Interest in resolving the conflict has picked up steam this month after the US and Israeli bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities. A ceasefire to the 12-day Israel-Iran conflict went into effect early this week.
On Friday, at an Oval Office event celebrating a Congo-Rwanda accord, Mr Trump said he had been just been talking to some of the people involved in trying to reach a cessation of hostilities in the Palestinian enclave.
“I think it’s close. I just spoke to some of the people involved,” he said. “We think within the next week we’re going to get a ceasefire.”
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-October 7 military assault has killed over 56,000 Palestinians.
Mr Trump’s surprise prediction of a possible ceasefire deal in the coming days comes 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 US special envoy Steve Witkoff’s office said they had no information to share beyond Mr Trump’s comments.
Mr Witkoff helped former President Joe Biden’s aides broker a ceasefire and hostage release agreement shortly before Mr 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 Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Mr 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.
