Trump says ceasefire deal is near as Israeli strikes kill 138 Palestinians in Gaza

GAZA CITY and WASHINGTON – The Israeli military intensified strikes throughout Gaza on Friday, even as President Trump signaled that talks about a potential 60-day ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas were close.

“We’ll see what happens – we are going to know over the next 24 hours,” he told reporters early Friday morning, saying that it was up to Hamas to agree to the framework of the deal because Israel already had. Israeli officials have not said publicly whether or not they’ve agreed.

Israeli officials have not said publicly whether or not they’ve agreed, but have said there are positive signs that they’re ready to negotiate.

In a statement released Friday, Hamas said it gave mediators a response that “can be characterized as positive” on the proposal, stressing it is ready to start negotiations in an effort to implement a deal.

A senior Hamas official who was not authorized to speak publicly told NPR that the group wants guarantees to end the war permanently – something Israel has refused to do in past negotiations – in addition to a partial Israeli military withdrawal from the enclave, and for the United Nations to return as the main distributor of aid in Gaza.

Israel has tasked the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private US-funded contractor, to distribute food in Gaza after an almost three month blockade of aid. The distribution sites have been chaotic and often deadly for Palestinians trying to get food.

Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are expected to meet in Washington on Monday, where the two will likely discuss the possible ceasefire. It will be Netanyahu’s third trip to the White House since Trump returned to office in January.

The last ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza was in January, and lasted for nearly two months, until Israel broke it with a series of surprise airstrikes.

Earlier in the week, Trump told Hamas to accept the deal, before conditions in Gaza become worse.

“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” he wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Exact details of the deal have not been made public, but would focus on the return of Israeli hostages who have been held in Gaza since the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel. There are still 50 hostages held in Gaza, more than half of whom are thought to be dead, according to Israel.

Israeli strikes in Gaza intensify

At al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Palestinians mourned over the bodies of loved ones, including several children, who were killed in an Israeli strike on a nearby school sheltering displaced people on Thursday. NPR witnessed at least nine bodies in the morgue, while dozens of injured were being treated at the hospital.

Othman Abdu, whose niece lost her three children in the attack, said he wanted to get a message to both sides trying to negotiate a ceasefire deal.

“Enough malicious politics,” he said. “Have mercy on us. There are innocent people being killed.”

Hospitals throughout Gaza have been flooded with patients in recent days as Israeli strikes have intensified, even as talks of a possible ceasefire deal have had some Palestinians cautiously optimistic.

At least 138 Palestinians have been killed and more than 400 injured on Thursday and Friday, according to Gaza health officials. More than 60 of those killed and hundreds of the injured were waiting for aid.

NPR’s Anas Baba reported from Gaza City. NPR’s Hadeel Al-Shalchi and Alon Avital contributed to this report from Tel Aviv. Abu Bakr Bashir contributed from London and Ahmed Abuhamda contributed from Cairo.

NPR’s Anas Baba reported from Gaza City. NPR’s Hadeel Al-Shalchi and Alon Avital contributed to this report from Tel Aviv. Abu Bakr Bashir contributed from London and Ahmed Abuhamda contributed from Cairo.