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U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan played a crucial role in advancing Gaza ceasefire negotiations, as Israel halted most airstrikes and negotiators worked to finalize a hostage release deal within days.
The development marks the closest the warring parties have come to ending the conflict that began with Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, now approaching its second anniversary.
Trump praised Erdogan's intervention with Hamas leadership, telling Axios that the Turkish president was "very helpful" in pressing the militant group to move forward with hostage releases.
"Erdogan helped a lot. He is a tough guy, but he is a friend of mine and he was great," Trump said.
A U.S. official revealed that Trump spoke directly with Erdogan on Friday before Hamas responded to the latest proposal, asking him to ensure the group didn't reject the deal.
"President Trump told Erdogan: 'I did a lot for you and now I need you to do this,'" the U.S. official said.
As of Saturday morning local time, the Israeli military had moved to defensive operations in Gaza and stopped airstrikes beyond those needed for force protection, the Israel Defense Forces said. The shift came after Trump called on Israel Friday to halt strikes and enter final negotiations with Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed he had suspended Israel's offensive to "prepare for the immediate implementation of the first phase of the Trump Plan for the immediate release of all hostages," his office said.
Trump told Netanyahu during their Friday phone call: "Bibi, this is your chance for victory. He was fine with it. He's got to be fine with it. He has no choice. With me, you got to be fine."
White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner were traveling to Egypt on Saturday to finalize technical details of the hostage release "and discuss the lasting peace deal," a White House official told Axios.
On Truth Social, Trump expressed appreciation for Israel's decision to "temporarily" stop bombing "in order to give the hostage-release and peace deal a chance to be completed." He then warned Hamas to "move quickly" toward releasing hostages or risk losing the opportunity.
"I will not tolerate delay, which many think will happen, or any outcome where Gaza poses a threat again. Let's get this done, FAST. Everyone will be treated fairly!" Trump said.
Trump emphasized the broad international backing for his peace plan, telling Axios: "We had great receptivity for our plan — every country of the world in favor. Bibi is in favor. Hamas went a long way — they want to do it. Now we will need to close it."
The president also highlighted his goal of restoring Israel's international standing, which he said had suffered during the prolonged conflict.
"Bibi took it very far and Israel lost a lot of support in the world. Now I am gonna get all that support back," he said.
More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to the Gaza health ministry. Most were civilians.
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