President Donald Trump on Monday predicted that the nearly two-year Gaza war will reach a “conclusive ending” within the next “two to three weeks,” reviving a timeline pattern he has often used when pressed on complex crises without offering concrete details.

“I think within the next two to three weeks, you’re going to have pretty good, conclusive — a conclusive ending,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, citing what he described as a “very serious diplomatic push.”

What those talks consist of remains unclear. Israel has continued advancing its military campaign to seize Gaza City, which military analysts expect will take months, not weeks. The Israeli government has rejected the phased ceasefire deal Hamas accepted last week, opting instead to press forward with plans for conquest.

Trump’s reliance on a “two weeks” horizon has become a hallmark of his rhetoric on unresolved issues. He has previously set similar short deadlines for everything from a breakthrough in Russia-Ukraine peace talks, to progress on Iranian nuclear negotiations, to tariff agreements. Earlier this summer, he predicted that a hostage deal in Gaza was “two weeks away” — a deal that never materialized.

On Monday, he tempered his new prediction with a caveat: “It’s a hard thing to say because they’ve been fighting for thousands of years. But I think we’re doing a very good job.”

The timing of Trump’s remarks comes as Israel faces mounting domestic and international pressure to accept a ceasefire. Hamas has agreed to a proposal involving the release of 10 hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners during a 60-day truce, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet has so far remained focused on military escalation.

Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir recently said, “There is a [hostage] deal on the table, we need to take it.” Centrist opposition figure Benny Gantz has called for a unity government to secure such an agreement and sideline Netanyahu’s far-right allies.

Asked whether Washington was driving talks, Trump replied: “There has been… a very serious diplomatic push.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio, standing alongside him, added that any resolution must end Hamas rule in Gaza.

Trump also repeated that the U.S. has contributed $60 million in humanitarian aid for Gaza. The State Department has said the figure is $30 million — only half of which has been transferred.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)