Trump says Iran is involved in Gaza hostage negotiations

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday Iran is involved in negotiations aimed at arranging a ceasefire-for-hostages deal between Israel and Hamas, Reuters reported.

“Gaza right now is in the midst of a massive negotiation between us and Hamas and Israel, and Iran actually is involved, and we’ll see what’s going to happen with Gaza. We want to get the hostages back,” Trump told reporters during an event in the White House State Dining Room.

The United States has proposed a 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Israel said it would abide by the terms but Hamas thus far has rejected the plan, read the report.

Under the proposal 28 Israeli hostages – alive and dead – would be released in the first week, in exchange for the release of 1,236 Palestinian prisoners and the remains of 180 dead Palestinians.

The United States and Iran are also separately trying to negotiate a deal on Tehran’s nuclear program.