President Donald Trump claimed yesterday the war in Gaza will end in the next few weeks, without providing specifics.
The US president said he “deals with” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “quite a bit” and said he has told him the war needs to end soon.
“I think within the next two to three weeks, you’re going to have pretty good, conclusive — a conclusive ending,” Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
“Is a hard thing to say, because they’ve been fighting for thousands of years,” he added. “I think we’re doing a very good job, but it does have to — it does have to end, but people can’t forget October 7th either.”
Trump pointed to US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff’s efforts to secure the release of hostages still being held in Gaza and provide food aid as the humanitarian and hunger crisis in the enclave worsens.
Expanded military operation on the ground: The American president’s claims that the war will end soon comes as Israel has expanded its military operation in Gaza City, which Netanyahu said was one of the last Hamas strongholds.
CNN’s Tal Shalev, Tamar Michaelis and Oren Liebermann contributed reporting to this post.
