Former President Donald Trump said Saturday that he will end the war in Gaza.
Trump attended UFC 302 Saturday night, where he was given a roaring, raucous reception by the crowd at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Video posted to X shows Trump speaking with Russian Khabib Nurmagomedov, a retired mixed martial arts legend.
“I know you will stop the war in Palestine,” Nurmagomedov said, according to the U.K.’s Independent.
“We will stop it. I will stop the war,” Trump replied.
Khabib: I know you will stop the war in Palestine.
Donald Trump: We will stop it. I will stop the war. pic.twitter.com/Ve7eshXF1B
— Globe Eye News (@GlobeEyeNews) June 2, 2024
As Trump spoke Saturday, attention in the Middle East was focused on a proposed deal that would cease hostilities, eventually send all living and dead hostages back to Israel, and lead to a rebuilt Gaza without Hamas in power.
The Times of Israel noted that the nation’s war cabinet was debating the proposal, which President Joe Biden backs.
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The report said that Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir have threatened to bolt the current governing coalition if the war cabinet backs the plan.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said drawing the claws of Hamas was the reason Israel began the war, and must be accomplished to end it, according to the Times of Israel.
“In any process of ending the war, we will not accept Hamas rule. We are advancing an alternative government to Hamas, within the framework of which we will isolate areas, remove the Hamas members and bring in other forces that will enable a different government,” Gallant said.
“On one hand, military action, and on the other, the ability to change the regime [in Gaza], will lead to the achievement of two of the goals of this war: the dismantling of the Hamas government and its military power, and the return of the hostages,” he added.
NBC indicated that Israel was sending mixed messages on the proposal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that a permanent cease-fire in Gaza was a “nonstarter” until other conditions to end the war are met.
“Israel’s conditions for ending the war have not changed: the destruction of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel,” he said.
However, Ophir Falk, a chief foreign policy adviser to Netanyahu, said the bargain was “a deal we agreed to — it’s not a good deal but we dearly want the hostages released, all of them.”
The proposal’s first step is a six-week cease-fire, an Israeli pullout from populated areas and the release of women and children held hostage.
Phase two would exchange the rest of the living hostages for imprisoned Palestinians.
The final phase would rebuild Gaza and send the remains of the dead hostages to Israel.
