Netanyahu to land in US after 'inconclusive' Gaza ceasefire talks
"I think there's a good chance we have a deal with Hamas... during the coming week," Mr Trump told reporters amid mounting pressure on the Israeli prime minister to agree to a ceasefire and end the war in Gaza after almost two years.
Mr Netanyahu said yesterday he hoped his talks in Washington could "help advance" a Gaza ceasefire deal.
Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu are scheduled to meet at the White House - the Israeli prime minister's third visit since Mr Trump returned to power in January.
Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas were under way in Qatar yesterday.
Two Palestinian sources familiar with the matter said that the first session of indirect talks ended inconclusively.
They added that the Israeli delegation did not have a sufficient mandate to reach an agreement with Hamas.
"After the first session of indirect negotiations in Doha, the Israeli delegation is not sufficiently authorized and is not authorized to reach an agreement with Hamas, as it has no real powers", the sources said.
Mr Netanyahu said, before his departure to Washington, that Israeli negotiators taking part in the ceasefire talks have clear instructions to achieve a ceasefire agreement under conditions that Israel has accepted.
Israeli hostages
"We've gotten a lot of the hostages out, but pertaining to the remaining hostages, quite a few of them will be coming out," Mr Trump said.
He said the United States was "working on a lot of things" with Israel, including "probably a permanent deal with Iran."
Mr Trump also repeated claims that US strikes "obliterated" Iran's nuclear facilities during the 12-day Iran-Israel conflict.
Since the start of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, mediators have brokered pauses in fighting during which hostages were freed in exchange for Israel-held Palestinian prisoners.
Of the 251 hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the October 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel's military campaign, lack of food and dire humanitarian conditions for more than two million people in Gaza has killed at least 57,418 people there, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.
The United Nations considers the figures reliable.
Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
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