US president issues ceasefire demand amid mediation efforts and worsening crisis in Gaza

Hamas has said it is reviewing a ceasefire proposal from mediators and that it seeks an agreement that will lead to the end of the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

This came after United States President Donald Trump urged the group to agree to his final proposal of a ceasefire that “Israel has agreed to” or face the situation getting worse.

A Hamas official named Taher Al-Nunu has said that the Palestinian militant group was “ready and serious” regarding reaching an agreement, Al Jazeera reported.

Arab News also cited the official as saying that Hamas was “ready to accept any initiative that clearly leads to the complete end to the war”.

In a social media post on July 1, Trump said his representatives had a “long and productive” meeting with Israeli officials about Gaza, adding that Qatar and Egypt would deliver the “final proposal” to Hamas.

“Israel has agreed to (the) necessary conditions to finalize the 60-day ceasefire during which time we will work with all parties to end the war,” he said. “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.”

A Hamas delegation was to meet with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo to discuss the proposal, an Egyptian official said earlier.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity, because he was not authorized to discuss the talks with the media.

Throughout the nearly 21-month-long war, ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly faltered over whether the war should end as part of any deal.

Hamas has said it is willing to free the remaining 50 hostages, less than half of whom are said to be alive, in exchange for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war.

Israel insists it will only agree to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms, and voluntarily exiles itself, something the group refuses to do.

On July 1, Trump told reporters at the White House that he would be “very firm” with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during their upcoming meeting, on the need to end the conflict in Gaza.

In a phone call on July 1, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani discussed joint mediation efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Abdelatty said Cairo was working on a new Gaza deal that includes a 60-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages and entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

These developments came just as the World Food Programme warned on July 1 that the “window to push back starvation in Gaza is closing fast”.

In a post on X, the agency stated its teams were adapting in real-time — setting up new distribution points, navigating extreme constraints, and using every safe route to reach people where they are.

In a similar appeal, more than 100 NGOs — including Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders, and the Norwegian Refugee Council — also called for immediate action to end the deadly Israeli distribution scheme by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

In a joint statement on July 1, they said over 500 Palestinians had been killed and 4,000 injured in less than four weeks, trying to access or distribute food.

“Israeli forces and armed groups — some reportedly operating with backing from Israeli authorities — now routinely open fire on desperate civilians risking everything just to survive,” the statement said.

Further, it said, Palestinians in Gaza face an impossible choice — starve or risk being shot while trying desperately to reach food to feed their families — describing the incidents as “some of the deadliest and most violent since October 2023”.

“The humanitarian system is being deliberately and systematically dismantled by the government of Israel’s blockade and restrictions.”

Mehmet Rakipoglu, an assistant professor of political science and international relations at Mardin Artuklu University in Turkiye, told China Daily that the US has helped Israel while also wanting an end to the war.

Since returning to the White House in January, Rakipoglu said Trump has been working on both a ceasefire in Ukraine and the “genocide in Gaza”, which has been committed by Israel, “with the help of the United States”.

“After Oct 7 (2023), Israeli reactions became a burden on Trump and other Western countries. That’s why they want to end the war.”

Rakipoglu added that Hamas thinks that Israel will be fragmented in terms of its domestic politics because Netanyahu’s coalition government includes other parties that have always wanted the conflict in Gaza to continue.

“If the war ends, most probably we will see the collapse of the government of Netanyahu and the coalition. Then we will see more fragmentation in Israeli politics,” he said.

Contact the writers at jan@chinadailyapac.com