President Donald Trump may travel to the Middle East over the weekend if a Gaza ceasefire deal is finalized, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on October 8th, 2025, between 7:38 PM and 9:08 PM UTC. Rubio stated that while "good progress" has been made in the ongoing talks in Sharm El Sheikh, "some work remains," and Trump "would likely be interested" in visiting if timing permits. During this period, President Trump also described the deal as "very close." Mediators have urged both Israeli and Palestinian sides to conclude negotiations by Friday morning, according to a senior Palestinian source cited by N12 News. Hamas has reportedly agreed to "freeze" its weapons and not dismantle them, and would not condemn the weapons to non-Arab factors, the head of the Egyptian Government Press Bureau, Dia 'Rhivan, told Saudi al-Arabiya. Mediators have also conveyed Hamas's requests regarding the depths of cities in Gaza before the kidnapping and emphasized to the Palestinian delegation that an agreement would lead to President Trump declaring the end of the war. Meanwhile, participants from a recent flotilla to Gaza have raised complaints about their treatment in the Kadot facility, including being given tap water, food they deemed not tasty, a lack of fruit, group rather than individual food portions, and seeing an insect, according to reports from X accounts by Lahav Harkov and avishaigrinzaig. Some flotilla participants are refusing to sign papers agreeing not to participate in future flotillas in exchange for release, and reported being woken up at night and treated "like terrorists." A more serious complaint involved not receiving necessary medications. Previous reports from earlier on October 8th indicated that mediators had set a Friday morning deadline for the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire agreement. Israeli officials had initially rejected a list of individuals Hamas proposed for release and requested additional time to study the possibility of handing over the bodies of Yahya Sinwar and his brother, according to Al-Arabiya Breaking sources. Austrian Chancellor stated that Austria would not host the Eurovision competition if Israel is excluded.
