The announcement represents the most significant breakthrough Trump has achieved regarding the war, after eight months of attempts at brokering an end to the conflict. During his re-election campaign, the US president had described ending the war in Gaza as one of his foreign-policy priorities.

Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a US-brokered ceasefire framework that will allow for the swift release of all hostages held in Gaza, Israeli withdrawal to an agreed point and the ...

“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," Trump told reporters in the room.