US President Donald Trump has indicated he believes the conflict in Gaza should be concluded soon, amid increasing global condemnation over severe humanitarian suffering, including widespread civilian casualties, the deaths of reporters and medical personnel, and a man-made famine in the blockaded Palestinian territory.
“I think within the next two to three weeks, you’re going to have a pretty good, conclusive ending,” Trump told reporters on Monday, report agencies.
The president has in the past assured with characteristic confidence that the war would cease, though these declarations have yet to result in a ceasefire or allowed for the unimpeded flow of aid to reach Palestinians officially suffering a UN-confirmed famine.
The Trump administration has provided Israel with substantial military assistance and has opposed global initiatives aimed at establishing Palestinian statehood.
“It’s got to get over with because between the hunger and all of the other problems – worse than hunger, death, pure death – people are being killed,” Trump said.
Previously, Trump proposed relocating Gaza’s Palestinians – a proposal that would constitute a crime against humanity under international definitions of ethnic cleansing.
Earlier that Monday, the president seemed not to have been informed of an Israeli strike on Nasser Hospital in Gaza that resulted in the deaths of 21 Palestinians, five of whom were journalists.
When asked about the event, he responded: “Well, I’m not happy about it. I don’t want to see it. At the same time, we have to end that whole nightmare.”
He then shifted focus to discussions concerning his administration’s work to secure the release of the remaining Israeli captives held in Gaza.