Washington — Former U.S. President Donald Trump, through a post on his platform “Truth Social,” called on both Israel and Hamas to reach a deal in Gaza aimed at returning the hostages taken during the October 7 attack.

Trump wrote: “Make the deal in Gaza. Return the hostages,” without providing further details. The post was interpreted as a direct call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to move forward with a ceasefire deal—something Trump had previously predicted would happen “within a week.”

His statement came just hours after he once again urged the Israeli Attorney General to drop the legal cases against Netanyahu, arguing that the Prime Minister is “currently working on negotiating with Hamas to strike a deal that includes retrieving the hostages.”

This marks the second time in a short span that Trump has called for easing legal pressure on Netanyahu, stating that the current political and security conditions necessitate prioritizing negotiations with Hamas.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Channel 13 reported that military officials are expected to inform the political leadership on Sunday that the ground operation in Gaza is nearly over and cannot continue without putting the hostages' lives at risk.