Trump says Gaza deal "very close," may travel to Egypt this weekend

Washington DC [US], October 9 : US President Donald Trump on Wednesday indicated that he may travel to Egypt this weekend as part of ongoing Middle East negotiations, saying a deal is "very close", Al Jazeera reported. He said he may depart as early as Saturday.

Speaking at a White House event, Trump received a note from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which he read aloud. "I was just given a note by the secretary of state saying that we're very close to a deal in the Middle East, and they're going to need me pretty quickly," he said.

Trump added that he would probably travel either before the release of captives or shortly thereafter, concluding, "I have to go now to try and solve some problems in the Middle East," as reported by Al Jazeera.

A senior Palestinian source said that mediators in Egypt have assured the Palestinian delegation that if an agreement is reached, Trump will announce the end of the war in Gaza, Al Jazeera reported.

The mediators understood the Palestinian request regarding withdrawal maps from deep inside the cities in Gaza before the release of captives.

Mediators asked both the Palestinian and Israeli delegations to set Friday as the final deadline for negotiations. Hamas agreed to release all Israeli captives and postpone handing over the bodies until field conditions allow, as per Al Jazeera.

Progress has been made on issues, including lists for captive exchange and guarantees to prevent a return to war after the release of Israeli captives.

Mediators are currently meeting with the Israeli delegation to obtain final answers on the outstanding issues. Meetings between the mediators and the Palestinian delegation have concluded, and the mediators have now moved to meet the Israeli delegation.

Earlier in the day, Trump had said, "'Peace for the Middle East,' that's a beautiful phrase, and we hope it's going to come true, but it's very close, and they're doing very well."

"We have a great team over there, great negotiators, and there are, unfortunately, great negotiators on the other side also. But it's something I think that will happen," Al Jazeera quoted.

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