A small piece of paper that would indicate “that an agreement in the Middle East is very close,” according to Donald Trump. The president of the United States was giving a press conference this Wednesday, October 8 in Washington on the issue of Antifa, when Marco Rubio brought him a note, whispering in his ear.
“I just received a note from the Secretary of State indicating that we are very close to an agreement in the Middle East,” the American leader then greeted reporters.
The White House tenant announced shortly before a possible visit to the Middle East at the end of the week, at a time when negotiations are being held for the fourth consecutive day in Egypt to try to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
A trip by Donald Trump “maybe towards the end of the week”
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi reported “very encouraging” signs about indirect negotiations between Palestinian Hamas and Israel and stated that he had invited, in the event of an agreement, the American president to “attend its signing.”
As a sign of the strong pressure to conclude, emissaries from Donald Trump, the Prime Minister of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdelrahmane Al-Thani, as well as the head of the Turkish intelligence services, Ibrahim Kalin, were sent to the seaside resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, where talks resumed in the evening.
In Washington, Donald Trump indicated that a ceasefire agreement seemed “very close.” He said he would travel to the Middle East “maybe towards the end of the week, maybe on Sunday, actually.”
“We’ll see, but there is a good chance it will happen. The negotiations are progressing very well,” he said. “We’ll probably leave on Sunday or even Saturday.”
Based on the Trump plan, the talks, which began on Monday, take place two years after the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, sparked by an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army continued its deadly bombing raids on the starving, besieged and devastated Palestinian territory, according to the local Civil Defense. Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are in Sharm el-Sheikh.
The American envoys arrived “with a strong mandate from President Trump to end the war,” according to Abdel Fattah Sissi.
“No trust”
Delegations from Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) were expected to join the Hamas delegation in Egypt on Wednesday afternoon, an Islamic Jihad leader said.
The Trump plan announced on September 29 provides for a ceasefire, an exchange of hostages kidnapped during the October 7 attack for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, the gradual withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas.
Hamas and Benjamin Netanyahu have said they support the plan, but several points remain unresolved.
“The mediators are making great efforts to remove all obstacles to the implementation of the various stages of the ceasefire and a spirit of optimism prevails,” said Taher al-Nounou, a Hamas leader participating in the discussions.
He added that his movement had exchanged with Israel “lists of (Palestinian) prisoners who will be released.” And according to a source close to Hamas, “the Israeli side presented the first letters regarding the withdrawal of its troops.” The day before, Hamas’s main negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, declared that the movement did not “trust” Israel and demanded “guarantees” from Donald Trump that the war in Gaza “will end once and for all.”
In its response to the Trump plan, Hamas agreed to release the hostages but called for an end to the Israeli offensive and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. He did not mention his own disarmament, a key point of the proposal. Benjamin Netanyahu said he supported the plan but stressed that his army would remain in most of Gaza and reiterated that Hamas must be disarmed.
“Destroy Hamas”
In this context of expectation, the far-right Israeli minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, went to the Esplanade des Mosques in Jerusalem, provoking the wrath of Hamas and several Arab countries.
“I only pray that our prime minister allows a total victory in Gaza, to destroy Hamas, with the help of God, and bring back the hostages,” said Itamar Ben Gvir, hostile to any agreement with the Palestinian movement.
Months of efforts by the mediators, Qatar, Egypt and the United States, have so far failed to achieve a lasting ceasefire in Gaza.
Two previous truces, in November 2023 and early 2025, allowed the return of hostages or captive bodies in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, before collapsing.
The October 7 attack caused the death of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to a report prepared by AFP based on official data. Of the 251 people kidnapped that day, 47 remain hostages in Gaza, 25 of whom are dead according to the army.
In response, Israel launched a military campaign that devastated the Palestinian territory, causing more than 67,183 deaths, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health. The UN has declared a state of famine in part of Gaza and its investigators say Israel is committing genocide there. Claims rejected by Israel.
Source: BFM TV
