Trump says Gaza deal is 'close': Report

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Donald Trump said a deal in the Gaza Strip is nearing completion and that he is personally pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the terms, Axios reported Saturday.

In an exclusive interview with Axios, Trump said "we are close" to a peace deal in Gaza, and said he'll push to finalize it in the next few days.

"I said, 'Bibi, this is your chance for victory.' He was fine with it," Trump was quoted as saying by Axios.

"He's got to be fine with it. He has no choice. With me, you got to be fine," he said, referring to Netanyahu.

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner were expected to travel to Egypt on Saturday over Israeli hostages and Gaza ceasefire, according to Axios.

Trump also urged the Palestinian group Hamas to act swiftly in ongoing hostage release and peace negotiations in the Gaza Strip.

"I appreciate that Israel has temporarily stopped the bombing in order to give the Hostage release and Peace Deal a chance to be completed. Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off," he wrote on Truth Social.

However, despite Trump's call for an immediate halt to the bombardment, Israel continued striking the besieged Strip on Saturday, killing at least 29 Palestinians, according to sources and medics.

Hamas announced Friday its willingness to release all Israeli captives, alive and dead, and to hand over Gaza’s administration to an independent Palestinian authority composed of technocrats. However, it stressed that the enclave’s future and Palestinian rights must be addressed within a broader national Palestinian framework.

Earlier, Trump gave Hamas until 6 pm Washington time (2200GMT) on Sunday to approve his 20-point plan.

According to Axios, Trump said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was "very helpful" in pressing Hamas to move forward with the release of hostages.

"Erdogan helped a lot. He is a tough guy, but he is a friend of mine and he was great," Trump was quoted as saying.

On Friday, Erdogan and Trump spoke on the phone to discuss bilateral relations and the situation in Gaza.

Citing a US official, Axios said Trump spoke to Erdogan on Friday, ahead of Hamas' response, and asked him to make sure Hamas did not say no.

"President Trump told Erdogan: 'I did a lot for you and now I need you to do this,'" the official was quoted as saying.

Trump told Axios the war in Gaza isolated Israel internationally, and stressed that one of his goals in ending it is to restore Israel's international standing.

"Bibi took it very far and Israel lost a lot of support in the world. Now I am gonna get all that support back," Trump said, according to the news website.