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President Donald Trump said an agreement to end Israel’s two-year-old war against Hamas in Gaza is “very close” based on a note he was handed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio during an event at the White House on Wednesday.
Trump was taking questions from reporters during a roundtable with right-wing influencers when Rubio entered the room.
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After Trump invited him to sit at the table alongside several other White House staff, the ex-Florida senator approached the president and whispered something in his ear. He then sat down and wrote a note which he had passed to the president.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio whispers in the ear of President Donald Trump during a roundtable about Antifa in the State Dining Room of the White House (AFP via Getty Images)
Trump read the note, then told the assembled journalists and influencers that Rubio had informed him of new progress in talks that have been taking place in Egypt.
“I was just given a note by the Secretary of State saying that we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East, and they’re going to need me pretty quickly,” Trump said.
According to a photograph of the note, it read: “We need you to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first.”
Trump had said an earlier delay in starting the event was caused by him “dealing with people from the Middle East” regarding talks over the 20-point proposal which Hamas had partly accepted on Friday, just days after he unveiled it alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week.
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Rubio wrote a note for the president which he then handed over (AP)
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Trump reacts as he reads the note (Getty Images)
He said the peace talks, which are being attended by representatives of Israel, Hamas, Egypt, and other Arab states as well as Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law and former adviser Jared Kushner, were “very close” to resulting in a deal “sometime towards the end of the week.”
Witkoff and Kushner both arrived in Egypt on Wednesday as Israel and Hamas exchanged lists of prisoners and hostages to be released as part of a potential agreement.
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Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law and former adviser Jared Kushner are attending the talks (AFP via Getty Images)
“We have a great team over there, great negotiators, and they’re, unfortunately, great negotiators on the other side also, but it’s something I think that will happen,” Trump said. “I may go there sometime toward the end of the week, maybe on Sunday, actually, and we’ll see. But there’s a very good chance negotiations are going along very well.”
The president later teased the possibility of traveling to Gaza to view the damage wrought there by two years of Israeli bombardment when asked if he’d consider visiting the war-torn territory.
“Yeah, I would. I might do that. I may do that. We haven’t decided exactly,” he said.
“I’ll be going to Egypt … that’s where everybody is gathered right now … but I’ll be making the rounds as the expression goes. I probably will,” he added.
Shortly afterwards, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt put out a statement reading: “On Friday morning, President Trump will visit Walter Reed Medical Center for a planned meeting and remarks with the troops. While there, President Trump will stop by for his routine yearly check up. He will then return to the White House. President Trump is considering going to the Middle East shortly thereafter.”
Israel launched its military attack on Gaza two years ago this week, following the Hamas terror attacks on October 7, 2023, which left nearly 1,200 Israelis dead and some 250 kidnapped. Since then, the Israeli military has killed more than 67,000 people, including at least 19,000 children, according to local officials, and destroyed much of the enclave.
According to Hamas representatives, the indirect talks thus far have been focused on their demands for halting the conflict, withdrawing Israeli forces from Gaza and the proposed prisoner swap with Israel.
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Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City on October 7. Trump said he might visit the war-torn territory (AP)
The group has so far refused to discuss one of the biggest sticking points: Israel’s demand that Hamas give up its weapons, which the Palestinian source said Hamas would reject as long as Israeli troops occupy Palestinian land.
The list of Palestinians Hamas wants freed is expected to include some of the most prominent prisoners jailed by Israel, whose release had been off limits in previous ceasefires.
According to a Palestinian source close to the talks, the list includes Marwan al-Barghouti, a leader of the Fatah movement, and Ahmed Saadat, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Both are serving multiple life sentences for attacks that killed Israelis.
Despite Trump’s demand that Israel stop bombing Gaza last week, Israeli Defense Forces have only turned down the intensity of their campaign.
Gaza medical authorities reported eight people killed in Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours, the lowest toll for weeks.
Sam Rkaina contributed reporting
