US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he may go to the Middle East at the end of this week as a peace deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is "very close."
"I may go there sometime toward the end of the week, maybe on Sunday, actually. And we'll see, but there is a very good chance. Negotiations are going along very well," Trump told reporters during an event at the White House.
"Our final negotiation, as you know, is with Hamas, and it seems to be going well. So we'll let you know, if that's the case, we'll be leaving probably on Sunday, maybe on Saturday."
Trump said he had just come off the phone with officials in the Middle East, where his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner had just joined discussions in Egypt.
"'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," Trump added.
"We have a great team over there, great negotiators, and they're, unfortunately, great negotiators on the other side also. But it's something I think that will happen."
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said earlier that he had received "encouraging" signs and hailed the support of Trump, whose 20-point peace proposal forms the basis of the talks.
Hamas too expressed "optimism" over the indirect discussions with its foe Israel.
Trump's plan calls for a ceasefire, the release of all the hostages held in Gaza, Hamas's disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the territory.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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