Trump says ‘real chance’ of Gaza peace deal

AFP | Washington

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US President Donald Trump said yesterday there was a “real chance” of a Gaza peace deal, as Hamas and Israeli negotiators held indirect talks on the second anniversary of the October 7 attack.

“We are very close to making a deal on the Middle East that will bring peace to the Middle East,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Trump said that US negotiators were involved in the talks now taking place in Egypt. The White House said on Monday that Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner would play a role.

“There’s a real chance that we could do something,” Trump said. “I think there’s a possibility that we could have peace in the Middle East. It’s something even beyond the Gaza situation. We want a release of the hostages immediately.”

“Our team is over there now, another team just left, and other countries, literally every country in the world, has supported the plan.”

Trump added that the United States would to “everything possible to make sure everyone adheres to the deal” if Hamas and Israel do agree on a ceasefire to end the war.

Hamas: ‘Historic response’-

Hamas insisted that the October 7 attack was a “historic response” to Israel’s actions against the Palestinian people.

“We reaffirm that the Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7 was a historic response to attempts to eradicate the Palestinian cause,” Fawzi Barhoum, a senior Hamas official, said in a televised speech.

Spain: ‘End genocide’-

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, one of the most vocal critics in Europe of Israel’s offensive in the Palestinian territory, decried the Hamas attacks and demanded Israel end the “genocide of the Palestinian people”.

“It is a day to reiterate our strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms, to call for the immediate release of the Israeli hostages,” the Socialist leader wrote on X.

“And to demand that (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu stop the genocide of the Palestinian people and open a humanitarian corridor,” he added.

UK: protests ‘disrespectful’-

Besides calling for the hostages’ release, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer suggested pro-Palestinian protests planned for the anniversary of “that awful day” were disrespectful.

“This is not who we are as a country,” the under-fire premier wrote in The Times.

“It’s un-British to have so little respect for others. And that’s before some of them decide to start chanting hatred towards Jewish people all over again.”

Italy: Peace opportunity

Far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called October 7 “one of the darkest days in history”. But she also said that the current peace plan for Gaza “offers an opportunity that must not be wasted to achieve a permanent cessation of hostilities, bring home the hostages still in Hamas’s hands, and begin a process toward peace and security throughout the Middle East.”

France: ‘Never again’

French President Emmanuel Macron said: “I reiterate France’s call: the release of all hostages and a ceasefire must take place without delay.” “Such an abomination must never happen again. Let us unite all our strength to fight antisemitism everywhere and to build peace.”

Germany: ‘antisemitism returns’ -

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz insisted that “all the hostages must be released immediately” and warned of a “new wave of antisemitism” in the country.

Merz said that “as part of the post-war generation that grew up with the promise of ‘never again’, I am deeply concerned”.

“Go out and approach our Jewish citizens... show that we stand by their side and that together we will do everything possible to ensure that Jews can live here in Germany without fear.”