U.S. President Donald Trump said on Oct. 8 that he may travel to the Middle East on Sunday for peace talks to end the Israel–Hamas war in Gaza and return the remaining hostages.
In the roundtable meeting, Trump said he had just returned from discussing a potential Gaza peace deal with Middle Eastern delegations, members of his team, and others. He suggested that he may travel to the Middle East as soon as this weekend for in-person negotiations to cement a deal to finally end the war.
"It's very close, and they're doing very well. We have a great team over there, great negotiators, and they're ... great negotiators on the other side also, but it's something I think that will happen, got a good chance of happening," Trump said.
"I may go there sometime toward the end of the week, maybe on Sunday, actually, and we'll see, but there's a very good chance ... negotiations are going along very well."
Trump added that multiple players are present in discussions, including Hamas and "all of" the Muslim and Arab nations.
"Our final negotiation, as you know, is with Hamas, and it seems to be going well," he said. "We'll be leaving, probably on Sunday, maybe Saturday, maybe a little later than Saturday evening, but that seems to be our schedule."
A little more than an hour into Wednesday’s roundtable meeting, Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had handed him a note. “We’re very close to a deal in the Middle East,” Trump said of Rubio’s note, “and they’re going to need me pretty quickly.”
Last month, the Trump administration unveiled a multi-point Middle East peace plan to end the war.
Washington's plan includes the return of all hostages—both living and dead—no more Israeli attacks on Qatar, an immediate cease-fire, a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza, large-scale reconstruction, and a new dialogue between Palestinians and Israel for "peaceful coexistence."
The development comes on the third day of negotiations between Hamas and Israel, with delegations from Egypt, the United States, and Qatar acting as intermediaries to end the war and cement the U.S.-drafted peace plan.
“Mediators are making great efforts to remove any obstacles to implementing a cease-fire, and everyone is optimistic,” Hamas said, according to Al Aqsa TV, a Hamas-affiliated media outlet.