US President Donald Trump will head to the Middle East on Friday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said early on Thursday, after Trump announced a deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas to end the Gaza war and release all hostages.
Trump was earlier informed that negotiators are "very close" to a deal between Israel and Hamas during a press conference on Wednesday.
"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'll get to need me pretty quickly," Trump told reporters at the White House.
“We need you to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce the deal first,” the note read, according to the AP.
Shortly thereafter, he added that he "had to go now to solve things in the Middle East."
Trump said that he may travel to the Middle East this weekend as his negotiators seek to seal a hostage-ceasefire deal, following his "routine yearly check-up" on Friday, a statement from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified.
Trump said at the White House that a deal is "very close," and that he may depart Saturday for the region. He spoke after talking to his team about the talks. Negotiators have been meeting in Egypt to finalize an agreement.
There has been good progress in the talks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio affirmed. Developments have been progressing by the hour, he added, stating that he also "may be heading to the region soon."
US officials are optimistic for a deal
An American official told The Jerusalem Post that the administration is highly confident that the chances of reaching a deal are very good. The goal for all parties involved in the negotiations is to reach an agreement by this coming Friday.
In addition, a senior White House official told Sky News Arabia that "the technical negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh have reached a decisive stage."
Another US official told the outlet that they are "optimistic about the possibility of reaching an agreement soon."
President Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, have made it clear they intend to remain in Sharm El-Sheikh until an agreement is reached.
The Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this story.