Donald Trump sees ‘progress’ on Gaza after Iran-Israel ceasefire – ‘very close’

Iran-Israel Ceasefire: After Iran and Israel confirmed a ceasefire, ending nearly a fortnight of military action against one another, US President Donald Trump said progress was being made toward ending the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. A renewed push for a ceasefire has begun, more than 21 months after the conflict erupted in the Middle East, he added.

“I think great progress is being made on Gaza,” Trump told reporters. The US President said his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has told him that “Gaza is very close.”

The Iran-Israel ceasefire declaration came on June 24, mere hours after Trump announced on Truth Social that a truce was imminent. On June 25 (local time), Trump linked his optimism about imminent “very good news” about Gaza to a ceasefire agreed between Israel and Iran to end their 12-day war, even as Israel continues its military operations in Gaza, said to have killed hundreds of people since the Iran–Israel conflict began.

Since Israel’s bombardment of Iran began on June 13, more than 860 people in Gaza have been killed by Israeli fire, according to CNN.

Hamas ‘backed’ by Iran

After the Israel-Iran ceasefire news came in on Tuesday, voices both in Israel and abroad called for renewed focus on the war in the Gaza Strip, demanding the return of the hostages still held by Hamas, with Qatar saying it was working to resume negotiations between Israel and the terror group.

Hamas, like many other organisations in the region, is believed to be backed by Iran.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, in a statement Tuesday, said that the Israel-Iran “ceasefire agreement must expand to include Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also facing growing calls from opposition politicians, and even members of his ruling coalition to bring an end to this phase of fighting, triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 others hostage. Netanyahu told reporters last week that “there is no doubt that our major achievements in Iran also contribute to our goals in Gaza.”

Opposition raises voice

Israeli opposition leader and left-wing The Democrats party chairman Yair Golan also called for an end to the fighting in Gaza. “And now Gaza. This is the moment to close that front as well. To bring the hostages home, to end the war. Israel needs to start rebuilding,” he wrote on X.

Qatar, a mediator, said on Tuesday that it would launch a new push for a ceasefire, with Hamas on Wednesday saying talks had stepped up. “Our communications with the brother mediators in Egypt and Qatar have not stopped and have intensified in recent hours,” Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told news agency AFP. He, however, said that the group had “not yet received any new proposals” to end the war.

56,000 people killed in Gaza: Health Ministry

Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Tuesday that Israel’s 21-month military operation in Gaza has killed 56,077 people so far. The present phase of war was sparked by Hamas’ surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Israeli forces and drones opened fire toward hundreds of Palestinians waiting for aid in separate incidents in southern and central Gaza early Tuesday, killing at least 44, as health authorities announced the number of Palestinians killed in the war has risen above 56,000, news agency AP said, quoting witnesses and hospitals.

The United Nations on Tuesday condemned the “weaponisation of food” in Gaza, and slammed a US- and Israeli-backed body that has largely replaced established humanitarian organisations there.

The Gaza health ministry says that since late May, nearly 550 people have been killed near aid centres while seeking scarce supplies.

Israel has said it has fired warning shots at people it said approached its forces in a suspicious manner, the agency said, quoting Palestinian health officials.

Criticism from the coalition

The recent deaths have invited criticism from Moshe Gafni, a leader of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, a partner in Netanyahu’s coalition government.

In one of the war’s deadliest incidents for the Israeli army, it said seven of its soldiers were killed on Tuesday in southern Gaza, taking its overall losses in the territory to 441, news agency AFP said.

“I still don’t understand why we are fighting there… Soldiers are getting killed all the time,” lawmaker Gafni told a hearing in the Israeli parliament on June 25.

The slain soldiers were from the Israeli combat engineering corps and were conducting a reconnaissance mission in the Khan Yunis area when their vehicle was targeted with an explosive device, according to a military statement.

Palestinian Authority demands ceasefire

The Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank, also demanded that the ceasefire with Iran be widened to include Gaza. “The Palestinian presidency welcomed US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire agreement,” Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s office said in a statement.

“We demand the completion of this step by achieving a ceasefire that includes the Gaza Strip,” it said.