Trump’s envoy says progress made on Gaza ceasefire negotiations

“I don’t want to say too much because I think they’re doing a really good job back in Doha. I’m leaving tomorrow back… to Doha,” he said at a press conference held by Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Tuesday.

“I think that we’ve had some … really great progress, and I’m really hopeful that by the inaugural, we’ll have some good things to announce on behalf of the president.”

Trump warned that there will be “hell to pay” if a deal isn’t reached before he enters office.

Mediation efforts led by the US, Egypt, and Qatar to reach a cease-fire in Gaza have so far failed due to Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to halt the war.

Hamas is said to be holding around 100 Israeli captives in Gaza. The group also added that dozens of captives had died in indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes.

The Israeli army has continued a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed over 45,900 victims, mostly women and children, since Oct. 2023, 2023 despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.