Trump hopes Gaza hostage, cease-fire deal will be reached ‘sometime next week'
Trump, who had called on Israel to 'make the deal in Gaza' earlier this week, said he hopes to have something concrete by the time Netanyahu visits Washington on July 7.
'We hope it's going to happen, and we're looking for it to happen sometime next week,' Trump told reporters.
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4 President Trump is set to discuss Gaza and Iran with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on Monday.
REUTERS
4 Thousands came out over the weekend in Tel Aviv in Israel to demand their government secure a cease-fire deal to free the remaining hostages in Gaza.
REUTERS
'We want to get the hostages back,' he added.
The two leaders are set to discuss the on-going war in Gaza, as well as 'the great success we had with Iran,' Trump said, referencing both countries' airstrike campaign against Tehran's nuclear program last month.
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While Trump has urged Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza, which has gone on for nearly 20 months, the prime minister has reiterated that the fighting will only end once Hamas is completely destroyed.
There are about 20 Israeli hostages believed to still be alive in Gaza, while the bodies of another roughly 30 captives remain there, also, according to the Israeli military.
4 The war has gone on for 20 months, with only 20 hostages believed to still be alive.
AP
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4 The fighting has also left the Palestinian enclave in ruins as Israel continues its airstrike campaign Tuesday.
AFP via Getty Images
Israel's latest expansion into the Palestinian enclave has seen several bodies recovered, including those of Israeli American hostages.
Of the remaining captives, Hamas still has the bodies of slain Israel Defense Force soldiers and Israeli Americans Itay Chen, 19, and Omer Neutra, 22, both of whom have families in New York.
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Hamas has said it is open to resume cease-fire and hostage exchange talks with Egyptian and Qatari mediators, but only if Israel agrees to a permanent end to the war.
Netanyahu and his supporters have said the condition is a non-starter.
With Post wires
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