Trump says US pushing for Gaza ceasefire by ‘sometime next week’

While Trump has previously urged Israel to “make the deal in Gaza,” the situation on the ground continues to deteriorate.

By: Express Web Desk

New Delhi | July 1, 2025 08:12 PM IST

3 min read

President Donald Trump speaks to the media before walking across the South Lawn of the White House to board Marine One en route to Joint Base Andrews, Md., and on to Florida, Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

The United States is pushing for a truce in Gaza by “sometime next week,” President Donald Trump said Tuesday.

Trump, responding to reporters who asked if a ceasefire in the ongoing war between Israel and Palestinian factions could be reached before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the White House, scheduled for July 7, said: “We hope it’s going to happen, and we’re looking for it to happen sometime next week,” Trump said, speaking to reporters before departing Washington for Florida, adding, “We want to get our hostages back.”

The swift end to Israel’s 12-day war with Iran has sparked renewed hopes for a breakthrough in Gaza, where more than 20 months of war have left over two million people facing a humanitarian catastrophe.

While Trump has previously urged Israel to “make the deal in Gaza,” the situation on the ground continues to deteriorate. An Israeli government spokesperson told reporters Monday that Netanyahu was working to end the war “as soon as possible” through the release of hostages — more than half of whom are believed to be dead — and the defeat of Hamas.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued new “evacuation orders” warning of imminent assaults around densely populated Gaza City. Civilians were told to head south to overcrowded coastal zones with minimal infrastructure, limited access to clean water, and scarce medical services. Approximately 80% of Gaza is now either under IDF control or covered by such evacuation directives.

The IDF said it plans to advance into central Gaza City to engage Hamas militants. On Monday, Israeli tanks and infantry pushed into the Zeitoun neighbourhood on the eastern edge of the city, while artillery shelled areas in the north and Israeli aircraft bombed at least four schools after warning families to evacuate.

Later in the day, an airstrike hit a crowded beachside café in Gaza City, killing at least 22 people, including women, children, and a local journalist.

The IDF said its operations targeted militant infrastructure in northern Gaza, including command and control centres, and that measures were taken to reduce civilian harm. Nonetheless, the mounting toll on civilians has sparked growing international calls for an immediate end to hostilities.

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