Trump calls for deal on Gaza war as signs of progress emerge

US President Donald Trump on Sunday called for progress in ceasefire talks in the war in Gaza, advocating a deal that would halt Israel's 20-month war on the devastated territory as Israel and Hamas appeared to be inching closer to an agreement.

An Israeli official said plans were being made for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to travel to Washington, DC, in the coming weeks, a sign there may be movement on a new deal. The official declined to discuss the focus of the visit and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans that had not yet been finalized.

"MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!" Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social early Sunday between posts about a Senate vote on his tax and spending cuts bill.

Trump raised expectations Friday for a deal, saying there could be a ceasefire agreement within the next week. Taking questions from reporters, he said, "We’re working on Gaza and trying to get it taken care of."

Trump has repeatedly called for Israel and Hamas to end the war in Gaza, which has killed over 56,000 Palestinians. Despite an eight-week ceasefire reached just as Trump was taking office earlier this year, attempts since then to bring the sides toward a new agreement have failed.

A top adviser to Netanyahu, Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, was set to travel to Washington this week for talks on a ceasefire.

Trump post slams Netanyahu corruption trial

The Gaza message wasn't the only Middle East-related post by Trump. On Saturday evening, he doubled down on his criticism of the legal proceedings against Netanyahu, who is on trial for alleged corruption, calling it “a POLITICAL WITCH HUNT, very similar to the Witch Hunt that I was forced to endure.”

In the post on Truth Social, he said the trial interfered with talks on a Gaza ceasefire.

"[Netanyahu] is right now in the process of negotiating a Deal with Hamas, which will include getting the Hostages back. How is it possible that the Prime Minister of Israel can be forced to sit in a Courtroom all day long, over NOTHING," Trump wrote.

The post echoed similar remarks Trump made last week when he called for the trial to be cancelled. It was a dramatic interference in Israeli domestic affairs which unnerved many in Israel, despite Trump's popularity in the country.

Israeli military orders thousands to flee northern Gaza

The Israeli military on Sunday ordered a mass displacement of Palestinians in large swathes of northern Gaza, an early target of Israeli attacks on the territory that has been utterly devastated.

Col. Avichay Adraee, an Israeli military spokesperson who frequently posts threats to Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria posted the order on social media. It includes multiple neighborhoods in eastern and northern Gaza City, as well as Jabaliya refugee camp.

The military will expand its escalating attacks to the city’s northern section, calling for people to move southward to the Muwasi area in southern Gaza, Adraee said.

Israel claims the displacement camp in Al-Mawasi is safe for civilians but has attacked it dozens of times, killing scores of civilians.

After it was all but emptied earlier in the war, hundreds of thousands of people are now back in northern Gaza following their return during a ceasefire earlier this year.

The Israeli military has issued dozens of displacement orders since resuming its onslaught on Gaza in the middle of March, forcing hundreds of thousands of people into ever smaller corners of Gaza.

More than 80 percent of Gaza is now effectively a no-go zone for Palestinians due to displacement orders or having been seized by Israeli forces.

Israel's far-right government declared plans to expel the entire Palestinian population from Gaza and is attempting to force its 2.2 million residents into the south of the territory.

A sticking point over how the war ends

Israel's war on Gaza has triggered an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe across the enclave.

Israel forces have killed at least 56,412 people over the past 20 months, displaced most of Gaza's population, often multiple times, and obliterated much of the territory's urban landscape. Its suffocating blockade on food and aid has pushed thousands to the brink of starvation.

Talks between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly faltered over whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire agreement.

Hamas says it is willing to free all the captives in exchange for a full withdrawal of Israeli troops and an end to the war. Israel rejects that offer, saying it will agree to end the war only if Hamas surrenders, gives up its arms, and permanently leave Gaza. The Palestinian group says surrendering its weapons is a red line.

(The Associated Press and TNA staff)