U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday praised the 20-point Gaza ceasefire proposal he introduced earlier this week, calling it a “great deal,” and said that discussions to finalize a truce and secure the release of hostages are “progressing very well.”
"It's a great deal for Israel, and it's a great deal for everybody, and you want to get hostages back," Trump told reporters outside the White House. "It's a great deal for the entire Arab world, Muslim world, and world. So we're very happy about."
"They're in negotiation right now as we speak. They've started the negotiation, it'll last a couple of days, we'll see how it turns out, but I'm hearing, it's going very well," he said.
Asked if he was open to flexibility on his proposal, Trump said: "We don't need flexibility because everyone's pretty much agreed to it, but there will always be changes."
Trump unveiled his plan on Sept. 29, which calls for the release of Israeli captives, a cease-fire in Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas and rebuilding of Gaza. Hamas agreed to the plan in principle on Friday, and further negotiations were due in Egypt.
Tel Aviv estimates that 48 Israeli captives remain in Gaza, including 20 alive. Israel, meanwhile, holds about 11,000 Palestinians in its prisons, many facing torture, hunger and medical neglect, according to rights groups.
Despite Trump's call for an immediate halt to attacks, Israeli forces on Saturday killed at least 60 Palestinians, including a young girl, in continued assaults across the Gaza Strip, according to medics and local sources.
Since October 2023, Israeli bombardment has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians in Gaza, reducing much of the enclave to rubble.
